The Fallen
by sqifer-fan
Summary: FFVIIFFVIII crossover. One of the fated children's past comes back to haunt them. Contains Yaoi Seifer x Squall, Reno x Cloud, Reno x Rufus plus others
1. Flight

**The Fallen**

Disclaimer: i do not own any of the final fantasy series (except the games) nor the people so don't sue (i don't have enough in my pockets to even buy you lunch)

**Prologue  
**  
He sat there and watched it all. The fall of his company, the death of his father, the end of his world as he knew it. Now, he stood in the middle of the port with nothing but a handful of his possessions and nowhere to go. "Vincent" The young boy turned towards his companions. It was not hard to spot the vibrant redhead, nor his silent blonde friend who followed close behind. It was odd to see the two as friends, but then the last months had been anything but normal. "We've found you a ship. She's small and fast, with little contact with people and tends to avoid large ports due to her um-delicate cargo. Just what we wanted" the redhead said as he lit up a smoke. "She's not leaving for a while yet so why don't we go get something to eat." He nodded, gathered his bags together and followed the two men towards a café.  
  
Vincent sat at the booth and studied the young blonde man sitting before him while he waited for his meal. He was quite amazed and lucky when the two had meet up with the blonde warrior. Vincent was sure that he would run that large sword right through him, but the events had changed everyone, and the three ended up travelling together and becoming close friends. He would be upset when he have to leave with out the blonde. "Here you go. Eat up, your going to need your strength for the next part of the journey" said the redhead as he handed out the large plates of foods. With fast metabolisms as theirs, they all had to eat an extremely large amount of food. Cost them a bundle but left the café owners with full pockets. Vincent looked towards his father's lover. He had known the red head his entire life, and regarded him like a second father. His father's death had hit him hard. There was bags under his eyes, and he had seem to off lost that bit of life that made him stand out. However, despite the changes in the two warriors, they could still slice and dice anyone who stood in their way in 3 seconds flat, a fact the Vincent was grateful for, considering his situation. "Everyone finished? We have to head down to the ship now so we can get Vincent on and out of sight."  
  
The ship was small and sleek, an older model than most, but Vincent was 99% sure that the engine was newer than most, and would be able to outrun just about anything in space. Most diffidently a smuggler's ship. Along side was the name _Loki_ written in faded red lettering. God of Mischief. An appropriate name. The boarding platform came down, revealing a large man, with bushy brown hair and an equally bushy beard. He reminded Vincent of a huge bear, and he automatically knew that he would like this man. "Hello and welcome aboard Loki" growled the man. "I'm Spaket, the captain and owner of this fine ship. Give me ya stuff and we'll fine ya a place to stash yourselves for the journey." The captain then grabbed the bags and loaded them up on the platform. Vincent turned to the blonde warrior. "I guess this is good bye" "For now" was the blonde mans' reply. Suddenly, the blonde found himself wrapped up in a large hug. Surprised, the blonde returned the hug. The blonde looked towards the red head. "You going to give him the gift yet?" "Oh yeah!" exclaimed the redhead. "I'll be right back and scuttled into the crowd. Moments later he returned carrying a long brown box, wrapped with a single bit a string. "This is for you, from the both of us" Vincent carefully took the box from the red head. It was quite heavy and would have been heavy to carry if he wasn't mako enhanced. He pulled of the string and opened the lead, revealing a sword. "We made it ourselves. It's called a gun blade. It's from the world that you're going too. It's said to be hard to master, but you have always enjoyed a challenge. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it," said the red head. Vincent remove the sword from its casing. It had a long blade, which curved upwards towards the handle. The handle itself was a gun, it was an unusual weapon. Along the blade near the handle was the inscription Hyperion. "It means Sun God. May it light your way through darkness and protect you when we cannot" the blonde suddenly said. The boy's eyes started to tear up. He placed the weapon back into its casing and gave the blonde another crushing hug. "Thank you" the boy whispered as he slowly released the blonde. The blonde looked towards the red head, catching his gaze as they silently said their goodbyes. With that, the man and boy stepped up onto the platform, and entered the ship. The doors closed as the engines started up. A large beeping sound rang through the port as the ceiling slid open, basking the blonde in its pale glow.  
  
Cloud stood and watched the ship take off, carrying both the boy and the Turk with it. When at last the ship had disappeared from view, he slowly turned and made his way to the exit, praying for the boy's salvation and the Turks safe return.


	2. Earth Afterwards

**Chapter One  
**_Ten Years Later  
_  
The Ultima Affair had taken its toll on him. The mirror no longer beheld an arrogant, fiery lad, full of dreams of life, but reflected a boy aged beyond his years, with dull green eyes and only a whisper of what he use to be. Angrily Seifer turned away from the mirror, ashamed of whom he was, of what he had become. A lapdog, the Sorceress Knight, a fool. He was lucky to be alive. Galbadia had wanted his head on a platter, but it was Matron and the 'heroes' who had stepped in and spoken for him, claiming that he too, was processed, and could not be held accountable for his actions. Which was true. He was let off without a trial, and had fled to Esthar, where he had remained in hiding since then. Just because he was allowed to go free, it didn't mean that he was forgiven, and there was a few out there that had tried to extract their own revenge, all falling beneath Seifer and his beloved Hyperion. Since he arrived, he had hit a new low in his life, and had dabbled with drugs and alcohol, leading to an addiction. He had nowhere to go, and no one to help him. He hadn't felt this hapless since his was a young boy, unsure of what his fate would be. He walked across the dirt covered floor to his bed, which was in reality nothing more than a mouldy mattress covered in an even moulder sheet, complete with a moth eaten blanket. He flung across the bed and thought of his options. He could do 3 things A) go and live with Cid and Edea in Centra Islands until he was back on his feet, B) find a way back home or C) crawl back to Garden and hope that they would take him back. Not much choice. He sighed. Option A was out. Cid and Edea would gladly take him back in, but despite helping him when the Ultima Affair was over, he could not bring himself to go near Edea. Whenever he looked at her, he would remember what had happened to him when Ultima had them both under her control. Her cruel smile, her hands reaching out towards him, the pain that filled his body and tore at his mind while she whispered pretty words in his ear... no. He couldn't cope with the memories now, it would be worse around her, no matter how much they tried. There was no way that he could return home – it was too dangerous for him still, and besides, if he had that kinda money, he wouldn't be living in this hell hole. That left option C) crawling back to Garden. The thought of begging garden to take him back left a sour taste in his mouth, but he had to do what was necessary to regain himself. Silently he packed up the few possessions that he owned – a set of clothes, Hyperion and the choker that his father gave him before he died. Placing the choker back on, he walked out of the cockroach infected building and started to cross the badly lit street when...  
**BANG!**   
And then there was darkness.

  
  
"I told you to slow down, but no, you had to go fast didn't you. Now you just hit and nearly killed one of the people your meant to be helping," said a voice.   
Another voice spoke. "Oh man, I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to hit him, and he's still alive" The other voice scoffed. "Huh barely. If you had just decided to stay back at the Palace instead of hooning around the back streets of Esthar, he would be going where ever he was going, and we wouldn't be in this mess."   
"Oh stop getting your undies in a twist Kiros. This is easily fixed. All we have to do is take him back to the Palace, fix him back up, give him a decent meal and send him on his way. No problems!"   
The other voice sighed. "Very well Laguna, but not a word about this to anyone, especially Squall. Your son would not be very pleased with you..."  
_ Huh, Laguna? Kiros? eh what? Squall's whose son?_  
"...Ward, come grab the boy and Laguna watch out for the..."  
"Ouch!"   
"... curb." Another sigh. Then blackness again.


	3. Earth After the War

**Disclaimer:**Story plot is mine, but nothing else is. _'italics'_ means dream/flashback sequence. rr please!

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**Chapter 2**

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"Squall"

Squall looked up sharply from his computer screen to glare at the intruder.

"Yes Xu?

"Cid just called. He wanted to know how you're doing. He said that he'd call back later. Also, you need to read through these and sign them"

Squall looked at the stack of papers in her hands. "What are they for?"

"Mainly budgeting. The budget for Trabia Garden is also in there." Squall sighed and rested his head on his hands. When he accepted the job as acting headmaster, he didn't realise how boring and tedious it would be. All he seemed to do was sign paper after paper, with the pile growing even more with every signature. No wonder Cid was so quick to hand him the reins.

"Whatever. Just stick them somewhere on my desk."

"Oh, and one more thing Squall. Rinoa said to tell you that the ball is on tonight and that you better be ready by six or else."

"Thanks Xu, I'll try to remember that" Squall replied wryly. Squall had been dating Rinoa since the end of the Ultimecia Affair. Squall cared for her deeply, but lately, she had been getting on his nerves. Especially with all the balls she dragged him too. Stretching, Squall took one look at the piles on his desk and decided that it was time for lunch.

The Cafeteria was packed. Fortunately, one of the gang had managed to grab a table, and this was where Squall headed after he had ordered his lunch.

"Hi Squall. Hows work?"

"Boring. Hows classes?" Quistis sighed.

"Their bad, but I've had worse" replied Quistis with images of a certain blonde and his brunette counterpart popping up in her mind. Shortly after the Ultimecia Affair Quistis had her instructors license reinstated, which had pleased her to no end, despite the behaviour of students.

"Mmmmph mp phhhhhhhhm"

"Zell, please wait until your mouth is empty before you talk" scolded Quistis. Zell swallowed the offending mouthful.

"Soorrrry. Hey Squall!"

"Hi Zell, what number hotdog is that?"

"10 and still counting" grinned Zell as he shoved the rest of said hotdog into his mouth and reached to grab another. Squall was sure that it was Zell's eating habits that put him off from eating meat.

"You know Zell, one day your going to make yourself sick eating like that and you'll never want to touch another one of those things again" drawled Irvine as he sat down next to Squall. Zell snorted and replied with a "like hell" as he continued to eat his way through his pile of dogs. Irvine had completed his SEED exam and now resided at Balamb Garden, helping Selphie plan the rebuilding of Trabia Garden between missions. When the budget for the rebuilding was completed, Irvine and Selphie were to leave for Trabia come spring and start with the rebuilding of the fallen Garden. Until then though, Selphie amused herself with the planning of parties, hence tonight's ball. Between her and Rinoa, Squall had seen more dances than he cared to remember.

"Oh Squally Poo!!!"

"Hey Rinoa" Squall said as she sat down on his lap, ignoring the snickers of his mates at his unfortunate nickname that the whole cafeteria now knew of.

"You get my message sweetie?" She purred softly, planting a quick kiss on his check as she caressed his hair. Squall sighed silently at her actions. He had told her countless of times not to show her affections like that in public, but like always, she just ignored him and continued to embarrass Squall. Rinoa had managed to get herself a job working with Dr. K in the infirmary, much to everyone's disbelief. He still didn't understand how she had kept the job for so long, considering that, she caused more damage than good. Most of the time, it was due to her inability to control her Sorceress powers. The gang had learnt to fear their training sessions with her, never knowing what was going to happen to them. One time, Irvine had the poor experience of being turned into a frog, which last for 3 days before some suggested to give him a kiss, like how the fairytale went. Poor Selphie was the undertaker of the job, but Irvine was eternally grateful. The gang spent a lot of time looking up fairytales after that, as that seemed to be the theme of Rinoa's magic. The things that go through the girls' head amazed Squall, but she offered him love and security and he wasn't going to turn that down, despite the lack of feeling he had towards her.

"Yes"

"Good then sweetie. I've gotten your clothes ready and waiting on your bed. Are you planing on going to the training centre before hand? if so make sure you take the time to use that lovely watermelon shower gel I brought for you last week. Quistis what would you be wearing? Maybe I better come around and lend you my tastes and no demin or hats to be worn Zell, Irvine…"

Squall blended out Rinoa's endless chatter. Honestly, when did she stop to breathe? Leaning across to Irvine, he whispered "What is the ball for this time?"

"I think it's for the Cafeteria Lady's birthday and the two thought that it would be a great excuse to through a party," Irvine whispered back.

"Ahhh" and Squall returned to his lunch. Suddenly the heavy weight that had been resided on his legs lifted off of his lap as Rinoa leapt up and screamed "Selllpphhie!" from the top of her voice, hurting the eardrums of all those on a 10m radius.

"Gotta go and finish up Squally Poo" Rinoa said as she quickly placed a kiss on the top of his head before bounding off over to Selphie where to two left chattering at 100 miles per hr.

"Whatever" mumbled Squall as he returned to his lunch.

"How DARE she instigate that I have not taste in clothing!" spluttered Quistis as soon as Rinoa had left the building. When Rinoa was around, Quistis was all smiles, but as soon as she left, her claws came out with vengeance.

"Don't worry about her baby. She has this weird idea that if its not blue, its not worth wearing. Its not her fault that she happens to be colour-blind" said Zell placidly as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"You dress lovely," add Irvine

"Yeah, unlike Rinoa" snickered Zell.

Squall just ate his lunch with disinterest. He was never bothered by the fact that his friends continually dissed his girlfriend behind her back. For a moment Squall wondered why that was so. As her boyfriend, he should be defending her until his death, but really, he couldn't care less. It was actually quite interesting to hear what the others said about her, and most of the time he could agree with them. Sure, he wasn't the most feeling boyfriend there was, but Rinoa knew what he was like when they first started dating. Now if only she would stop trying to change him…

"Earth to Squall! Can you hear us from in there?" Squall sighed. Trust Zell to ruin an interesting monologue.

"I'm here and still breathing Zell" Squall said sarcastically. "What more do you want?"

"You opinion for starters" Zell retorted. Quistis nodded.

"We're planning on going to the ball wearing our style, include demin and hats. Want to join in the fun?"

Squall imagined the white tux that Rinoa would of surely laid out for him in his room. No black in Rinoa's wardrobe for him. He suppressed a shudder. "Yeah sure, whatever"

"OH YEAH" Zell whopped loudly. "This is gonna rock!"

Quistis smiled. I'm going to love to see the look on her face when she sees what we're going to be wearing tonight." Irvine nodded in agreement, and then turned his attention to Squall.

"Hey Squall, What's happening the Inter Galactic Delegations coming up?"

"Not too sure yet. I'll have to ask my dad that." Just after the Ultimecia Affair, delegates from the Intergalactic Planetary Traders Association came forward, wanting to open an official spaceport. It would be a great boon for trade, and would open up new options for the people on Squall's world. Sure there was the unofficial spaceport floating around, but they didn't serve the IGPTA's needs. A meeting was to be held between the delegates and the major leaders of the World, including Squall's father, President Laguna of Esther. When Laguna had first revealed his parentage to Squall, he had been a bit skeptic, but Laguna had a way of growing on people, and now the two enjoyed lengthily hats every week. Sure, most of the time it would be Laguna talking while Squall listened, but it was a huge improvement from when Squall was going through his 'talk to the wall' stage of his life.

"That reminds me. I need to talk to my father this arvo. I better get back to my office and get the coffee maker up and running. When Laguna talked, he wouldn't stop until he ran out of things to say, which usually took over an hour. Needless to say, Squall had booked an afternoon a week to be free when he called his father. In that sense, Laguna often reminded Squall of Rinoa. Squall pardoned himself from his friends' presence and returned to his office. Once the coffee maker had finished its magic, Squall made himself comfortable for the lengthily chat that he knew was coming up.

"Presidential Office. How can I help you?" came a nasally voice from the end of the line. "Squall of Balamb Garden for president Laguna please"

"Just one moment" and the hold music came on. Squall planned to personally strangle the person who chose the music with his own bare hands, once he found out who the culprit was.

"Squall! What a lovely surprise! Didn't expect you to call so soon!" came his father's voice. Squall raised an eyebrow. Something was off que with his father.

"Just calling to see how the IGPTA meetings were coming along and to see what mischief you've been up to lately," Squall replied with a smirk.

"Mischief, What mischief, I've done nothing that could be classed as mischief" came Laguna's flustered reply. Squalls smirk grew wider. It was so easy to catch his father out. "Ok father, what have you done this time?"

"Nothing!" Squall sighed.

"You can't fool me. I can feel the guilt radiating off of you from here"

"Oh, I promised Kiros I wouldn't tell you!"

"I'm sure Kiros would forgive you for slipping this once"

Ok ok, the other night I decided that I wanted to find out how I could help the lower class people so we hired a car and cruised around the backstreets when I accidentally ran someone over. He's alright. He's currently residing in the guest chambers," Laguna added in quickly. Squall sighed.

"You know, for a world leader, you're not very responsible" scalded Squall.

"Ahhh, that's not all Squall" Laguna added hesitantly. "You see, the guy I hit was just any guy but…."

"But who?"

"Seifer Almasy" came his father's whispered reply.

"WHAT!"

Squall rested his head on his hands. For nearly a year, the orphanage gang had been looking all over the world for Seifer's whereabouts, but with no luck. One thing for sure, Seifer knew how to hide. Now the hunt was over, because his own father had somehow managed run him over by accident. Talk about a small world.

"I'll be around in a few hours," Squall said to the receiver.

"There's no need for…"

"I'm coming" came Squalls curt reply. "I'll see you soon" and hung up. 11 months he had been looking for Seifer, he wasn't about to let him get away from him again. Now to break the news to Rinoa that he wouldn't be able to attend the ball tonight.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The news had left Rinoa in tears, but Selphie was able to distract her attentions so that Squall could pack for his trip. As soon as Quistis had heard the news, she state that she was coming as well, and nothing could stop her. Out of the lot of them, Quistis was probably the closest to Seifer after Squall. After all, she did teach them both, and knew them better than the rest of the gang. While packing, Squall went over the questions he had wanted to ask Seifer for months, like, why did he go with the Sorceress in the first place? Why didn't he come back to Garden? Why did he just suddenly disappear, leaving all of his friends, including Fujin and Rajin, in the dark, with no contact to say that he was alive? Squall shock his head. It was pointless going over them now. He'll soon find out the answers. On that thought, he shouldered his bag and headed to the Raganork.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

_'The long blade curved upwards, cutting through the people as though they were jelly. People he had known his whole life fell lifeless as the Platinum-haired beauty made his way through the building, leaving behind him a trail of dark red blood from his victims. Up and up he went, and the boy could tell that the final destination would be the 72th floor – his grandfather's office. 'If he's planning of getting the old man, he's a bit too late, Father and Re have already dealt with him' the boy thought to himself. He could still remember see his grandfathers face when he realised that the Turks followed not him, but his son, the loud bang of the guy and the sicking sucking sound as the bullet enter his grandfather's head and came out the other side, bringing a trail of blood and brains out with it. Grinning to himself, the boy crept out of his hiding place to follow the blood soaked warrior on his rampage, avoiding stepping on the bloody mess of intestines and other various organs that littered the ground. The boy hissed in annoyance as he stepped on an unidentified organ, probably the guys' brains from the look of the corpse. Shaking the matter from his shoe, the boy hiked his pants up so that they wouldn't get dirty and made his way up the stairs to his grandfather's former office. When he reached the top floor, he peeked around the corner and into the large office. Lying across the desk was a large, fat man with light blonde hair, slightly balding at the top, pinned down by a large sword, the exact replica of the long sword that the man was holding. Reeve had borrowed the sword from the Museum, and interesting touch that would leave a strange puzzle for the idiots that would have to "invistigate" the murder. One thing for sure, Reeve did have a natural flair for when it came to getting everyone out of trouble, even more so than Tseng. Looking at the sword imbedded in the dead man, the man threw his head back and laughed loudly, sending his long hair shimmering down his back. As idiotic as it sounded, the boy just wanted to reach out and play with the long, silvery hair. Ok, so maybe he had a fetish for long hair, so sue him. But this was no longer the man that he once knew, so he stayed behind the doorframe that he was peering out from. The man suddenly turned and started walking in the boys' direction. Realising that he was about to be caught, the boy glanced around for a place to hide, before…'_

YO! Wake up there!" Seifer awoke with a start.

"Hey hey, its ok. You were having a bad dream," said the guy leaning across the bed. He was of a slight build, leaning towards feminine, with large brown eyes, and thick black hair tied back in a ponytail. His whole presence screamed "Goofball!" but there was something about the guy that made Seifer smile. Charisma, the idiot's saviour. He tried to sit up, but was rewarded with a sharp pain up his side. He laid back down and waited for the pain to subside.

"Whoa, you don't want to go do that just yet" the man said, concerned.

"What happened" Seifer managed to croak out. The guy looked sheepishly as he scratched his head while looking down at the floor. All he needed to do was ground his toe into the ground and he would look like a child who had just been caught red-handed with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Well, we kinda ran you over when my friends and I were out for a drive…" the man finally supplied. "We brought you back here so we could get you some proper medical treatment."

"Ok then, so where's 'here'?"

"The Presidential Palace"

"Eh?" Seifer shook his head, making sure that he had heard right.

"You sure?"

"Positive kiddo." Seifer glanced around. Sure enough, the large room reeked of wealth. Seifer mentally scolded himself for not taking note of his surroundings earlier and returned his attention to the beautiful man on the foot of his bed.

"By the way, my name's Laguna, and these two" he gestured towards to door, "are Ward and Kiros. If you need anything at all, just ring the buzzer and ask for one of us."

Seifer took a quick look at the two men at the door. One was a large, heavy set man that had obviously seen more than a few battles in his lifetime, While the other was a tall, slender man with sharp eyes and deliciously long hair. With that, the three men left Seifer to his thoughts. He lent back into the ultra soft pillow and decided to make use of the luxurious bed that he was currently residing in. Within minutes, he had drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Meetings

Disclaimer: Plots mine, nothing else is

Warning: Sorry I forgot to add these to the other chapters, I hope I haven't upset anyone. This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

Chapter 3

There were two things that Seifer first noticed when he woke up. 1) The morphine had worn off, and 2) he was not alone. A quick glance around revealed the intruders – asleep on the couch was his ex-instructor, and sitting in a large chair next to his bed was his former rival and the world's hero, Squall Leonheart. Damn, he really had to work on his skills, that were the second time he woken up to someone in his room without him realising that they had entered. A deadly fault in Seifer's eyes. He looked across to the figure in the chair. A flurry of emotions passed quickly across Squall's face. Surprise, shock, disgust, pity, and a new one to Squalls range, which Seifer had yet to see. Anyone who said that Squall was unreadable obviously didn't pay much attention to him. The emotions were there, you just had to look hard enough. Seifer sat back and waited for the _Hero_ to speak.

Squall was shocked by his rival's appearance. When he and Quistis had come in while he was sleeping, they believed that he wasn't as bad off as they had thought. The fact that Seifer had slept through them entering should of alerted Squall otherwise. Seifer had aged over the year. He looked haggard. His once tame hair was in desperate need of a cut; he had dark bags under his eyes, and had lost a lot of weight. There was something that was different about him. The eyes Squall realised. His eyes were no longer held that spark that made Seifer _Seifer_, instead they were dull and lifeless, brighten only by a soft glow that emitted from them. The glowing eyes would have been unusual on anyone else, but Squall had grown up with Seifer and was use to the glow, and the only reason why he noticed was because the dullness had enhanced it. Where the glow emitted from Squall had no idea, but the thought of asking Seifer about it did not even cross Squalls mind – despite being thought of as a loud brutish person who wanted everyone to know of him, Seifer was extremely private, especially about his past. Right now, his eyes contained remnants of shock, fear, curiosity, suspicion, gone within a blink of an eye, replaced with a strange new look, bordering on needy, and Seifer fidgeted with his fingers as Squall continued to examine him. Strange behaviour for Seifer, but Squall placed it down to nerves.

_Why doesn't he hurry up and say something_ thought Seifer, fidgeting with his hands. With the loss of the Morphine, the realisation of pain had come back, but more importantly, the craving for the overdue shot pulled at him, tearing at his limbs and muddling his mind until he could not think straight. _Just like Ultimecia_ Seifer thought for a moment. Pain could be ignored – the craving couldn't. Despite being curious as to what Squall and Quistis wanted from him, he wished that they would hurry up and go so that he could take his leave and go and hunt down his next shot of bless.

Impatience was written all over Seifer's face. Squall decided not to push his luck, and made the first move to speak.

"Seifer"

"Squall"

Tension filled the air as the two rivals stared at each other. A soft snore emitting from the couch as Quistis turned and rearranged herself broke the boy's gazes and the tension.

"How you feeling?" Squall asked softly.

"Like shit" Seifer replied truthfully. If it had been anyone else, he would of laughed in their face and told them that he had never felt better in his life. However, this was Squall, and they had seen each other hurt to many times to lie about their conditions, the other would just see right through it.

"You need some more morphine?"

Seifer thought about it. Sure, the morphine would stop the craving for a while, but it would be back, stronger than before. He wanted to get a shot in before that stage. There's nothing worse than crawling across the floor, begging for a shot – it was a pitiful sight and also a great way to be ripped off.

"Na, I'll pass. Where's my stuff?"

"By the dresser". Squall looked shocked as Seifer rose out of bed and headed towards his bag. Seifer was glad that Quistis was still sleeping. He wasn't exactly shy when it came to his body, but she was still his ex-instructor, and he didn't really want to parade around in front of her wearing only a pair of boxers and some bandages.

"You're not planning to leave already! You're still injured and…"

"Oh come off it Squall, quite the concerned act will ya. We both no that you don't fucken care what happens to me" Seifer snapped. Squall caught Seifer with an icy glare, stopping the blonde in his tracks.

"We have been searching for you for nearly a year now, not knowing if you were dead or alive, or how you were going. Your foolish hiding left everyone worried about you, including me, so stop being such an asshole" Squall replied through gritted teeth. By now, Seifer's head was pounding, and Squalls little speech had made it worse. With more strength than what Squall thought the older boy had, Seifer pushed Squall away with one hand, sending the brunette _flying_ across the room, before crashing painfully into the bathroom doorframe. Squall watched silently from his position on the floor as Seifer dressed himself and gathered his things together. It was only when Seifer neared the door did Squall dare to speak.

"There will be a free bed and meal here for you Seifer. Just mention my name and you'll be allowed in. When you want to talk, we'll be right here."

Seifer turned and looked at Squall, his eyes empty of emotion. "What ever" and left the room, with Squall lying in a heap on the floor, and Quistis sleeping blissfully.

The last of Seifer's money passed from his hands, replaced with a small bag of powder and several syringes. Sitting in a private part of the park away from prying eyes, Seifer mixed up some powder and water together, sighing in content as he rolled up his sleeve and injected the cloudy liquid into his system. Bliss flowed through him as the drug surged through him, and he closed his eyes and just wallowed in the pleasant feeling, before getting up and moving on. Now that he had relieved his craving, Seifer had more time to review his situation, as well as his confrontation with Squall. Now _that_ was a stupid thing to do. He was planning to return to Balamb Garden. So what does he do, insult and assault the Headmaster, and then take off the first moment that he could. Great first impression. _Fuck…_ and now he was stuck in the middle of the back streets of Esther, with no money, no food, no place to stay and with injuries that continually nudged at his mind. The pain was easy to ignore, but his body could only take so much before complaining. Laguna had got him good. Seifer looked up at the looming building that was the Presidential Palace, visible even from there. At least there, he had a bed and a guaranteed meal. He had enough stuff on him to last a few days, just so his injuries could heal and he could sort out what to do next. Despite Squalls words, he wasn't too sure if he was able to go back to Garden. _Oh well, cant do anything about it just standing here_. Seifer shouldered his bag and began the long walk back towards the Presidential Palace, and Squall.

* * *

"You just let him walk out of here!" Quistis asked Squall, disbelief etched across her face.

"Well, yeah. There wasn't much I could do. He's stronger than I realised. He wasn't even trying when he pushed me across the room. There was no way that I could of stopped him from leaving" muttered Squall as he rubbed his aching shoulder. Seifer had always been stronger than he let on, but he had never used more strength than he needed, and Squall had not realised how much stronger Seifer really was. Squall was just glade that Seifer never used that strength against them during the war. None of them would of came back alive, Squall was sure of that.

"You still should have woken me up, called the guards…anything! We've been looking for the guy for a year with no sign of him, and when we finally find him, you let him walk straight out of the door! Now we're back to square one, and I doubt Seifer would make the same mistake and walk out in front of Laguna again"

"I didn't want him to feel pressured or trapped. That's the best way of losing Seifer. He has to know that he can make his own decisions, only then would he think about returning to Garden. Stopping him would of only sent him running faster."

"But still…"

The bickering SEEDS were quietened by a door shutting and closing, as a tired Seifer let himself in. The two watched in a stupefied silence as the tall blonde dropped his bag on the floor and climbed into bed, asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow. Quistis and Squall stared at the slumbering blonde with mouths opened and eyebrows in their hairlines.

"Oookaay then" Quistis said finally.

"I wonder where he went?" Squall said.

"Ahh beats me," Quistis said as she flung her hands up in the air and plonked herself down on the chair. "At least he's back. Now go and get some sleep. I'll watch over him."

"Fine." Minutes later only Quistis was awake, with only her thoughts on the blonde, and his peculiar behaviour.

* * *

It was barely six in the morning when Seifer woke up. A quick glance around revealed the two SEEDS sleeping soundly. Quietly he grabbed his bag and made his way to the bathroom, where he quickly showered and administrated himself another shot. 30 minutes later he emerged, greeted but a flustered Quistis, and an equally flustered Squall.

"Seifer! There you are. We thought you did another runner on us," Quistis said to the silent blonde. There was something wrong with the blonde this morning, but she couldn't quite place it. For some who was hit by a car just a few days ago, he certainly looked a bit too happy and healthy for Quistis's liking. The far away look in his didn't make her feel any better. Diffidently strange.

"Lets all go and get some breakfast," she said, breaking the silence." Then I'll like to give you a once over, to see how your healing up" Seifer just gave a little smile and nod, and then headed down towards the dinning hall. Squall and Quistis exchanged worried glances; Quistis wasn't the only one who noticed the difference. Together they followed Seifer down the hallway, each trying to figure out what was up with the blonde.

It always amazed Squall on how much Seifer could eat in one sitting. Seifer had already eaten 3 _large_ helpings of bacon, eggs and toast, and was now helping himself to four muffins, and the way that he was already eyeing up the ham and cheese croissants meant that he wasn't about to stop anytime soon.

"Good morning everyone! Oh, you're up already. Feeling any better?" bumbled Laguna as he entered the dinning hall. "Damn" he muttered as he saw the collection of plates surrounding Seifer. "You sure like your food. Well, if you have an appetite, then you must be feeling better! Now where's my Coco Pops?" said Laguna, sitting down next to Squall. Squall just shook his head. His father couldn't even eat the same stuff as a grown-up. _I guess that's what you get for having an over-grown kid as your father _Squall thought as he watched said father pour himself a large bowl of cereal. "How did you all sleep? Good I hope"

"Fine thank you sir," replied Quistis politely.

"I've told you before, just call me Laguna please. I get enough of the 'sirs' from everyone else. Soon I'll forget my own name" Laguna said jokingly. Squall sighed. Mornings and bad jokes just did not mix.

"You're up early" Squall stated to his father.

"Phhhh. General Caraway called me at 5.30 in the morning, wanting to discuss security measures for the upcoming meeting. He also wanted to me to go and wake you up to talk about the SEED placements, as he heard from Rinoa that you were here. You'd think he'd wait until a decent hour of the morning, but no, he had to get it all done ASAP, mindless of anyone else" grumbled Laguna.

"What's happening that's so big that Esther and Galbadia are organising a joint military venture with SEED?" asked Seifer from his forgotten end of the table.

"Where have you been? Living in a cave?" asked Quistis.

"There's to be a meeting between the Intergalactic Planetary Trade Association and the major leaders of the world. There will be leaders coming from all different kinds of worlds to set up a trade agreement. Its one of the biggest things to happen to our world that's in the name of peace for a long time. Just imagine the things that would be open to us if this agreement is signed." Laguna informed the blonde.

"Well, where I've been hanging, we have better things to worry about than to sit and talk about some weirdos from space organising trade agreements that we'll never see the result of" Seifer snapped

"I could imagine," said Squall sarcastically. "I expect finding the best dumpsters to sleep in would take up most of your time Seifer," Squall added snidely, annoyed at the tone of voice that Seifer used to his father.

"Fuck you" Seifer said as he glared at Squall, then stormed out of the room, leaving the room filled with tension.

"Squall, that wasn't very nice! I thought you wanted him back? Saying shit like that's not going to help."

"She's right you know" Laguna added as he spooned a mouthful of cereal into his mouth. "I suggest that you go and apologise to him." Squall glared at the two before getting up and storming out of the room, leaving Laguna and Quistis to enjoy their breakfast in peace.

* * *

_Why should I apologise_ thought Squall as he wondered around the Palace Gardens. _He shouldn't have spoken to my father like that. He's a guest here and should behave as such. I can't believe that I've wasted a year trying to find that ungrateful, pig-headed, arrogant, beautiful… whoa, were did that thought come from?_ Squall stopped and shook his head, trying to clear his head of his new and unwanted thoughts. It was not good to think of his rival in _that_ way. _I guess I was a bit harsh on him_ Squall thought, remembering the hurt look in Seifer's gorgeous eyes that made Squall want to kiss it all away… Squall pushed the thought away, blushing. _I'm straight, not gay; I'm straight, not gay…_ Squall chanted in his head as he tried to get his body under control. Tight leather pants and hormones were not a good mix, especially when the hormones were targeting his rival, who was also a guy on top of that. Getting himself under control, Squall carried on walking. _I had better go and apologise, that way, I'll be able to stop thinking about him, and everything will be ok. But he'll have to apologise to my father as well_ Squall decided, and made his way to Seifer's room.

Seifer paced the length of the room. _Stupid, fucken bastard. Like he knows what I've gone through. Sleeping in a dumpster huh? I haven't be _that _bad off, thank you very much. Dumb-arse prick, with his stupid fucken stuck up ways, fucken beautiful blue eyes and deliciously tempting mouth…lets not go there. I'm meant to be pissed off at him, not lusting after him. That can wait until later. Damn I need a pick up. Trust Squall to ruin my good feeling. Damn ice prince. Who does he think he is, talking to me like that._ Seifer glanced towards his bag. _Ah, one little shot won't hurt_ he thought as he grabbed his stuff and sat down on the edge of the bed. Mixing up the powder, he was about to give himself the blessed shit when the door opened…

"What the fuck!"

* * *

ok, i'm not to sure if i like the way this chapter came out. This is my first fanfic and i'm just starting to get the feel of it, so feel free to give me any pointers or hints, just go easy on me please! Reviews are always welcome.


	5. Earth Druggie's hell

Disclaimer: Not Mine, Square-Enix

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

JCKA - glad you like you it and sorry about the swearing. I didn't think I put too much in. For being my first reviewer, you can have a cookie! (Hands cookie to JCKA) enjoy! ;)

Chapter 3 Druggie's Hell

Squall stood shocked at the sight that was before him. Seifer was sitting on his bed, sleeves rolled up holding a syringe above his m, filled with a murky liquid which could of only been drugs.

"What the fuck!"

Seifer looked up in shock, staring at the intruder before he recognised whom it was. His mouth turned up in snarl.

"What do you want?" he growled as he stuck the syringe into his arm, injecting the liquid, mindless of his audience.

"Seifer, what…" Squall trailed off, unable to find the words to the question he most desperately needed answered. He watched as Seifer rolled down his sleeve and dumped the used syringe into the bin, removing all traces of what had happened.

"What do you want Squall? I thought that you weren't the type to talk too lowly dumpster trash such as myself" Seifer snarled sarcastically at the prone boy. Squall snapped out of his daze.

"What are you thinking Seifer? How…"

"That's the point Squall!" Seifer yelled. "I stop thinking with this stuff. Stop thinking, stop remembering and just _be_ for a few blissful hours."

Squall just shock his head and clenched his fists.

"You're a fool Seifer, a complete fool"

"What's all this shouting for?" Quistis stood at the doorway, glaring at the boys. "I thought you were meant to be apologising, not fighting Squall!"

"I was going to apologise," Squall replied angrily, "until I came in and saw him shooting up!"

WHAT! SEIFER! You don't!" Quistis exclaimed, horrified.

"Just look at his arms Quistis, he's a fucken pin cushion." Seifer just stared at the two in a daze. And then started giggling. Squall and Quistis stoped and stared at the blonde, not quite comprehending what he was doing. Seifer was giggling. Seifer _never_ giggled, but right now, he was doing a perfect imitation of Selphie on a sugar buzz, complete with the bounce.

"What the hell he's on?" Quistis asked, dazed.

"What ever Selphie's on I guess," Squall replied, just as dazed by the sight before him. By now, Seifer's giggle had turned into sidesplitting laughter and was rolling on the ground holding onto his sides, with tears streaming down his face.

"What are we going to do Squall?"

"Wait until it wears off, and then get him off of the stuff before it completely fucks him over" Squall replied firmly.

"There's no way that we can take him back to Garden in this condition, Dr K will have him kicked out in no time. She has no tolerance to drugs that she wouldn't prescribe. We'll need to find some place were we can take him which is away from the source, and wean him off somehow."

"My father has a cabin up in Trabia. I'll see if we can use that" Squall replied thoughtfully.

"Great. Now all we need to do is somehow get Seifer to the cabin" Quistis replied, casting a glance at the Blonde man sitting on the floor. Siefer's madding laughter has finally subsided to giggles as he stared insanely at a picture on the wall.

"And quick. He's kind of scary like this. At least I understand an angry, murdering Seifer, but a laughing, flying Seifer? Just beyond my scope."

"I agree. I'll go talk to my father and we'll leave first thing. We better get him onto the bed. Stay and watch him while I'll get everything sorted. And while you're at it, find the rest of the stuff and dump it. Preferably before he wakes up." Squall said.

"Yes Sir"

"Don't 'Sir' me Quistis. We're not at work"

"Sorry Squall, force of habit. You give a order and I do the good SEED act and Sir you back." Quistis replied, smiling at the brunette who was staring at the sky as if saying 'Why me?' which he most likely was. The two SEED's finally managed to move the now sleeping ex knight onto the bed, Squall pulling a blanket over him as an after thought.

"Make sure you get all of it Quistis. There's no point taking him away to get detoxed if he has plenty left on him to keep him happy." Squall called out as he left the room.

"Sure thing Squall" Quistis replied, even though Squall was long gone. Sighing to herself, Quistis proceeded to search through Seifer's things, flushing the offending drugs down the toilet.

* * *

Seifer woke up, feeling groggy from the drugs he had taken earlier.

"Damn, not good"

Slowly, the earlier events came back to him, Squall barging in, the fight, then the thought that Squall and Quistis where so hilarious, which resulted in the laughter that had sent him to the floor, helpless. Even now, his sides still hurt from it. Seifer smiled faintly at the memory. 'And here I was thinking that I didn't remember how to laugh'.

"Good Afternoon Seifer."

Seifer jumped and turned towards the chair. He hadn't even noticed Quistis sitting there, packed bags by her sides.

"You're going somewhere?" he asked, eyebrow arched.

"No, WE'RE going somewhere. Now come on, we need to leave now if we're going to make it there by sundown."

"What, no yelling, screaming, hitting?" Seifer asked, perplexed. "What have you got planned?" he asked suspiciously, as images of a large torture chamber filled his head, complete with Zell and Selphie, pumped fill of sugar, singing along to Nikki Webster. Shuddering, he turned towards Quistis, who just smiled and walked out of the room, bags in hand. Staring suspiciously at the retreating blonde, he grabbed his bag and followed her down the hall.

* * *

Seifer looked about the room. He had never been in the Raganork before, though he had heard about it. Not once did he ever imagine that he'd actually get to ride in it. For a space ship, it was OK, if a little out of date. 'Wouldn't want to fly about space in it though.'

"I forgot you haven't been in here before" Quistis spoke from the doorway. "Despite being old, she still has some life in her. Of course, we've improved her over the year. She's Selphie's pride and joy."

"Hn, whatever."

"Hey, that's what I'm meant to say" came Squall's voice over the intercom.

"Come down here and say that to my face" Seifer snapped towards the speaker.

"If I did that, the no body would be flying, and we'll crash and burn," Squall replied logically.

"Wow, like that's going to bother me" Seifer retorted.

"Now now Seifer, we can't have an attitude like that," Quistis said smiling. Seifer glared at her. "OK, what's going on? You two have been acting funny and I want to know why."

"And how have we been acting funny Seifer dear?" Quistis replied, still smiling.

"Well for starters, you've both been acting extremely nice, instead of yelling and screaming at me. Even puberty boy here has been giving me the honour of hearing full sentences from his mouth. What's going on and where are you taking me?"

"Wait and see."

Seifer glared at the blonde SEED, who proceeded to ignore the seething blonde beside her. After 5 minutes of unsuccessful glaring Seifer finally gave up and instead glared at the wall.

* * *

"We're in the middle of NO WHERE! You guys have got to be kidding me," Seifer said shrilling to the two amused SEEDS. They had made it to the log cabin in record time, and were in the middle of unloading their supplies, when Seifer, just awoken from his catnap, had decided to come and see where they had landed. A log cabin in the middle of nowhere was not what he had expected. The torture chamber was starting to look cosy.

"Why are we _here_" Seifer asked, turning away from the offending building to look at the SEEDs.

"Well, we were originally going to take you back to Garden from Esther, but in light of the recent events, we decided to take a pit stop up here in little lonely Trabia for a couple of weeks" Quistis told him, smiling at the look plastered on Seifer's face.

"But but but…"

"No buts Seifer" Squall broke in. "we're here so that you can clean up. That means no drugs, no alcohol, just bottled water and cough syrup, which is not that tasty, so just go inside and get your bags unpacked. Now."

Seifer glared at the brunette before slinging his bag over his shoulder and storming into the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

"Well, he took that rather well, don't you think?" Quistis remarked to Squall.

"I don't think he's looked in his bag lately" Squall replied, grinning.

"THE STUPID DUMBARSE MOTHER FUCKER PECIES OF SHITS…"

Their grins grew wider.

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_The last month was horrific on me, on both my body and my mind. I still can't believe that they put me through that. The cravings started first, small and easily ignored. But they grew, until all I could think off was Shot, Shot, Shot. Constantly going through my head. I think I begged Squall at one stage, gripping onto his leg and crying like a baby. At times, the world would spin out of focus, and I would feel so numb, like I wasn't really in my body anymore. That scared me, though I'll never admit it. My moods would go up and down; one moment I'm on the floor crying, then suddenly I'm on my feet in a rage, ready to harm anything in my way. I recall throwing Squall across the room in one of my rages; they tied me down after that. But worst was the long forgotten memories that came back to haunt me. My past. The blood. The screams. The people I knew, most who had died, like my father. His death haunted me the most. Even now, if I listen hard enough, I can still hear his last breathes, gargling from the blood in his lungs…but I don't really want to talk about that._

_I don't really remember much, but I do remember the feeling of the lack of control I had other myself. It was as though I was back under HER control again, unable to do anything but watch as MY hand brought Hyprion down on the victims in front of me, MY voice that taunted Squall cruelly, unable to stop, to do anything. It was a nightmare. I recall glimpises of Squall cooling my forehead with a flannel, Quistis giving me small sips of water, I guess I must have had a fever. No surprise I don't remember anything. I wonder if I said anything, and if they could understand it. Would I call out in my natural tounge, our in their tongue, which I have used for so long. Sometimes its hard to find a place where I belong. But that's another entry for another time. But if this experience had taught me anything, its that I never want to go through detox again._

_VBS_

The first 3 weeks were horrific for them all. It took a day for the cravings to set in, turning the once proud and strong Seifer into a quivering ball of mess, begging and screaming for a shot. In the end, they had resorted to tying him down to his bed when he became violent, smashing chairs, and even threw Squall across the room. Fever came and went constantly, leaving Seifer in a constant state of delirium, ranting in another language that the two were not familiar with, sometimes screaming in rage, other times begging and pleading, with tears streaming down his face. And all they could do was watch as Seifer was painfully weaned off of the substance that had taken control of his life. It seemed that it would never end, but slowly, it did just that. By the end of the month, Seifer was looking and feeling much better, thought he had lost a lot of weight and there were times when his hand would shake, but better he was.

"So Squall, you think its time we went back to Garden?" Quistis asked one night while washing up after dinner.

"I guess so" Squall replied. "We'll still need to keep an eye on him though, to make sure that he doesn't go back on them."

"Or feel a bit of vengeance from the students" Quistis added, "He's not the most loved person in the world."

Squall frowned. "There is that. I doubt that it would be safe for him to return to his old room. We'll have to bunk him down with someone until everyone gets use to his presence. But who?"

"Not Zell" Quistis stated firmly. "Seifer would drive him made within a week, if Zell doesn't string him up on the ceiling fan first. Irvine would be no good either. He'd be too busy flirting to watch Seifer 24/7"

"And I doubt he'd really want to be anywhere near that room when Irvine's banging Selphie either."

"Well he can't crash with me" Quistis stated firmly, "which leaves only you Squall"

"What. But Rinoa..."

"Can crash in with Selphie. She's hardly there at all, spending her time at Irvine's dorm so they won't be getting in the way of each other. You're the only other person who we can trust to look after Seifer, and besides" Quistis added, "you're about the only person who has some semblance of control over Seifer. You're the best person for the job."

"I guess it could work" Squall said reluctantly.

"Great, now lets get packed and leave this Hyne-forsaken place. Seifer was right, this place is in the middle of no where and I can't wait to get back to civilization."

"I agree with you on that."

* * *

AN: Not to sure how this chapter turned out. I didn't want to go to deep with Seifer's drug problem cuz it's only a little side bit to get into the story and doesn't play a big part. The next couple of chapters will be dealing with Reno, Cloud and Gaia (FFVII world – as Square Enix calls it), so you won't be seeing Seifer in the Garden just yet. Reviews are always welcome, as is critical criticism (not flames).


	6. Gaia After Crisis

Disclaimer: Not Mine, Square-Enix

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

Chapter 4

"Would Reno Almasy please report to the presidential office immediately."

'Damn, what the hell do I do this time?' Reno thought as he left the Turk office to make his way to see the president. He hadn't changed much over the 10 years, an added effect of mako. His thick red hair was now down to his waist, but he still looked as though he was in his early to mid twenties, rather than the 32 years that he really was. Back in the early day when Reeve had started the rebuilding of Midgar (now called Neo Midgar), and Neo Shinra, the Turks had a major haul over, becoming a independent organization with no ties to any particular organization, hiring themselves out to the highest paying customer. The uniforms had changed as well. Gone were the blue suits that showed that they were the larkys of Shinra, now the uniforms consisted of a black Chinese-collar top that ended below the waist and was tied at the waist with a belt, with dragon designs sewn in black silk thread, only visible when the light hit them, and disappearing in the darkness. It was Elena's idea, as a way to symbolise the Turks nature. Reno wasn't to sure at first, but the top grew on him. The pants were also black, and were loose fitting; followed by black boots and a black trench coat for wear out of the office. Embroidered on the back of the coats in the same black silk thread was the same dragon symbol that was on their tops. Again, Elena's idea. Ranks were told by the colour of the rims along the collar, sleeves and hem. Black rims denoted a recruit, dark blue was for the normal ranks, the second in command had a dark red rim, and Reno's top had gold rims, denoting that he was the leader. Sure, they weren't made for wearing on missions and all that – they had a different uniform for that, with the exception of the trench coat, that was used for both uniforms, - but it looked tidy and presentable, and was what they wore when dealing with bodyguard duty.

When Neo Shinra was rebuilding Neo Midgar, Reeve had approached the Turks, with the intention of hiring them on. If it had been anyone other than Reeve, Reno would of declined, with the plan of avoiding getting back involved with something that had Shinra in its name, but Reeve had always been classed as a friend by the Turks, so Reno agreed, and had a contract written out stating the conditions of the business. Sure, Reno trusted Reeve, but he had to have some safety guard, just in case. The Turks moved their main office into the Neo Shinra building, and did simular jobs as when Shinra was in charge, but the Turks continued to take on other jobs, just as long as they didn't interfere with their job at Neo Shinra. This had suited the Turks fine, and had continued their services with Reeve over the years.

"You may go in now sir" the receptionist told Reno as he sat in the waiting room. Without acknowledging the lady, Reno walked through the large doors and into the presidential office. It was a large spacious office, designed for comfort as well as business. The wall along the side was a large window allowing sunlight to filter in, bathing the room in a natural glow, giving the office a 'homely' feel to it. At the far end of the office facing the door sat a large mahogany desk, where a figure sat, entranced in the files in front off him. Reeve had taken on the rebuilding of Midgar, building both Neo Shinra and Neo Midgar from the ashes of their former selves. Many were worried that history would repeat its' self, but with the invention of electricity, and Reeve's ability to be everybody's friend, many fears of another tyrannical company soon dissipated. Over the years, the company grew, until it was nearly the size of the original Shinra, sparking fears anew in some. But truth be told, the only reason why the company had grown so big was that they were no other large companies prepared to deal with transport, weapons, space trade, and so forth, so Reeve had build divisions to deal with those areas. The only other company that was starting to look into weapons and space trade was _Jouissance, _a new up and rising company set out to topple Neo Shinra from it's perch. The pressures of running such are large company had taken it's toll on Reeve, with fine grey hair showing through his lush black hair and goatee, giving him a salt and pepper look, despite being only 2 years older than Reno. He had a constant tired look to his face from the many nights that he spent working overtime to keep the city running smoothly, but despite this, his warm brown eye still held a sparkling glow to them, and his face would light up whenever he talked about his city that he had designed and built from nothing. Reeve clearly enjoyed his job and did it well, but Reno wished that he would take a break every now and again. His vice president, a young girl by the name of Fiona, was smart and down to earth, perfectly capable of running the company while Reeve took a well-deserved holiday.

"You wished to see me sir?" Reno intoned as he walked towards the desk.

"Yes Reno. Please, sit down" Reeve said as he motioned to the chair across from him with his pen. "I've been wanting to talk to you about the attacks that have been happening on our power plants recently." Reno lent forward, curious.

"As you know, the attacks have been going on over the last few months, with a small resistance group sneaking in and destroying the main power grids, cutting off power for days on end. Not causing much harm life wise, but making us appear inefficient to the people. Before, it was believed that it was a small rebel group doing this, but thanks to the information your people have managed to gather, it looks as though it is Jouissance that is behind the attacks, disguising it as a small rebel group. You do know of the situation between us and Jouissance." Reno just nodded. Barret Wallace and Tifa Lockheart formed Jouissance shortly after Neo Shinra was born. The two had a major disagreement with Reeve over the future of Neo Midgar and Neo Shinra, fuelled by Barret's distrust of anyone who worked for Shinra. They broke off from Neo Shinra, selling their shares to Vincent, and formed Jouissance, becoming the main competitor for Neo Shinra. Unwilling to become a part of the rivalry, most of the group sold their shares, with the exception of Vincent and Yuffie, and went their own ways. Nanaki returned to Cosmo Canyon and continued his Grandfather's work on the planet. Cid took his wife Shera and two daughters back to Rocket Town, where they opened a mechanic school, training engineers and pilots. Yuffie remained in Neo Midgar and opened up a materia shop, and was soon doing good business. She kept in good contact with Reeve and Co, often popping around for a coffee and chat. Vincent had taken the position of Second in Command of the Turks, dealing with the training of the new recruits, and was one of Reeves most trusted advisors. Cloud on the other hand was the only person who didn't join the group in forming Neo Shinra. After the Crisis, Cloud had retreated into his shell, and took off one night, leaving Tifa in tears. Not hearing from him for a couple of months, the gang was shocked when he appeared on day at Neo Shinra headquarters with Reno, who had been away on Turk business. The gang had offered him a part in the shares of the company, but Cloud had declined, preferring to keep his distance from the company. He moved in with Reno, and started writing a chronicle on their journey, as a way to spend his time. After the success of his first book, he took to writing full time, writing several fantasy novels, all which had become best sellers.

"Sorry Reno, stupid question I know." Reeve said apologetically. "I require you to infiltrate Jouissance headquarters and find out what their motives are. These attacks just doesn't feel right."

"I understand sir, but…"

"But?"

"But I'm wondering why you didn't request Vincent for this job. He's far more qualified in espionage than I" Reno asked.

"Because of his link with Barret and Tifa. Something is extremely fishy with this situation and I need to be able to count on the person acquiring the information to bring back a full report. Though it seems unlikely that he wouldn't do such a thing, he still might take the information back to the others and try dealing with whatever he found themselves – the ties within the group are strong, as you might know," Reeve replied.

"Their bond with you wasn't so strong."

"That is because the dealt with Cait Sith, not me, and I was a spy at one stage" Reeve replied. "Not the best way to form a bond, but I must of left some impression or Vincent, Cloud and Yuffie wouldn't be classed as my closer friends."

"True," mused Reno. "You can trust on me to find out what's going on sir."

"Good. Just remember, this mission is classed as top secret, and no one is to find out about it, including Cloud. I don't want to put him in an awkward position because of his friendship with Tifa."

"… Yes sir."

"Thanks Reno" Reeve said, leaning back in his chair. "You're dismissed."

Reno nodded in acknowledgement and left the office, mind already on the task of preparing for the mission; '_What the fuck am I going to tell Cloud…"_

------------ --------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------- --------- ----------

Cloud was lounging on the back deck when Reno got home, watching the sunset. Reno took the time to watch his lover unnoticed. The blonde was still a fine specimen, despite his new profession – he still worked out everyday with his sword. His blonde hair was longer, down to shoulders, though he still kept it in the same style. He had ditched the solider uniform a long time ago, instead opting for a tight dark navy sleeveless top and form fitting pants which weren't too tight, but still managed to show off his nice arse, or at least it was to Reno, though he might be a bit bias on the matter. Now the light of the sunset played across the porch, bathing the blonde in hues of red, pink and orange, highlighting Cloud's blonde hair in tones of red and gold. Reno smiled as he walked up behind Cloud, wrapping his arms around his waist, startling the blonde.

"Hey babe," Reno murmured into Cloud's neck.

"Fuck Reno, you gave me a fright" Cloud replied, leaning back into the Turk. The two just stood there in silence, watching the last of the sunset to disappear, replaced by the beginnings of night-time. Cloud twisted around so that he was facing Reno, and wrapped his arms around the others' waist.

"So how was work?"

"Tsh fine. I have a new mission that's going to take me away for a few days though" Reno replied.

"Oh, what is it?"

"Sorry babe can't tell you that. Orders from the pres."

"Fine then" Cloud said stonily, and turned away from Reno.

"Oh Cloud, don't be like that. I trust you, but I have my orders not to tell anyone, and that includes you I'm afraid" Reno said as he grabbed Clouds' waist and pulled him around to face him again. Cloud looked up at Reno, giving him his best glare. Unfortunately, Reno was quite immune to his glares by now, so all that resulted from Clouds efforts was a quick kiss on the lips.

"Your right Re, I'm sorry." Cloud said as he pulled the redhead down for a kiss. "Its just that you've been going away so much lately that I'm starting to feel a little bit left out."

"I've been wondering why you've suddenly gone like a possessive wife on me." Reno chuckled at the look on Clouds face.

"I'm sorry Cloud, but I have to go and do this mission. Maybe afterwards I can take a few days off and we can get reacquainted" Reno said suggestively, leering playfully at the blonde.

"Why not now?" Cloud replied huskily, reclaiming Reno's lips in a passionate kiss, hands roaming their bodies with practised ease.

"I love you Cloud" Reno murmured as he pulled Cloud down on the two seater.

"I love you too."

The next-door neighbour drew her curtains and turned her radio up loud – very loud.

-------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ----------- ------------- ----------- ---------- --------- ----

Cloud gazed at his sleeping lover. He had never thought that he would of ended up with the reckless Turk, or any male for a matter of fact. Cloud smirked as Reno rolled over, causing the sheet to slip further down his body. 8 years together and Cloud had never gotten sick of looking at his lover's form. Cloud had bumped into Reno a month after the Crisis. He was travelling around the southern coast near Mideel, and had stopped at a nearby inn, where he came across Reno with a young boy, around 8 yrs of age, with blonde hair and mako bright green eyes. Clouds first thought was to run the two through with his sword, but instead sat down and shared a meal with them. Despite his misgivings, dinning with the two had been a pleasant experience, and by the end of the night, the two men were talking as though they had been best friends, instead of worst enemies. "When the two left in the morning, he left with them. It wasn't so bad, Reno was enjoyable company and had a way of getting a person to talk without them realising – Turk training Cloud guessed. He had told Reno much about his past – what he remembered – about his troubled relationship with Tifa, about the loss of Aeris, the fight against Sephroith and what it had cost him. In return, Reno told him about his life, what it was like to be a Turk, about his lover Rufus and his adopted son Vincent, and his promise to keep the boy safe. Despite the past history between the three, they had grown close in the few months that they had travelled together, and Cloud was genuinely upset when the two had left to find a safe place for Vincent. Cloud had planned to return to Neo Midgar when Reno had left, but instead decided to await the Turk's return before heading back. After rejoining the group he decided to just sit back and relax for a while, writing a chronicle of the Crisis. When Reno offered him a room at his place, Cloud quickly agreed, much to everyone's surprise. It was still another 2 years before they got together – Reno was still mourning for his lover and best friend Rufus, and Cloud for Aeris, the flower girl who had managed to touch his heart, despite his best efforts to keep it hidden away.

Cloud could still remember clearly the night they got together. It was Clouds 23rd birthday and the two had been sitting on the two seater on the back deck, looking at the stars and talking about inconsequential things, when Reno had lent in and gently laid a kiss on his lips, before pulling back a bit, waiting for Cloud's reaction. Cloud was a bit shocked by the kiss, but surprised both Reno and himself by pulling the Turk in for another, more heated kiss. They had been together since then. Cloud knew that Rufus would always have a place in Reno's heart, much like how Aeris would always have a place in his heart, but he knew that Reno loved him, and that he loved the redhead back. Unfortunately some of the others wouldn't of understood, so the two had kept their relationship hidden, until Tifa walked in on them making out one day. Tifa had been trying on and off to get Cloud's attention for years. She had decided to pay a surprise visit on Cloud in her sexiest clothes, thinking that Reno was at work, hoping that Cloud would announce his undying love for her. Needless to say she was not expecting to see Cloud and Reno lip locked in a passionate kiss and missing half of their clothes on the living room couch. It didn't help that Reno had laughed at the look on Tifa's face as well. Tifa had ran off in humiliation, told everyone some bizarre story about what had happened and refused to talk to Cloud for months. This had upset Cloud – he classed Tifa as a good friend, and hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't help whom he loved. After sometime Tifa came around, though their friendship was on shaky grounds at the best, and she absolutely despised Reno, due to the fact that he worked for the opposition and, in her eyes, had stolen her boyfriend away from her. It was always quite interesting when the two were in the same room together. The others had taken it a bit better, with the exception of Barret. Reeve wasn't that surprised, he had known about Reno's previous relationship with Rufus, and had been hearing all about Cloud's great arse for the last two years. Vincent didn't seem to care, along with Nanaki, passing it off as none of their business. Cid didn't accept their relationship at first, always trying to talk Cloud into leaving Reno for Tifa, and have a proper relationship without sin, but when he saw how happy Cloud was with Reno, he eased off, though remained uncomfortable about the relationship. In return, the two held off doing anything front of him. Yuffie was happy that they had gotten together, and wasn't bothered by their relationship in the slightest. She even came to the movies with them, despite the odds of them actually watching the movie being quite slim. Rude and Elena didn't mind, already knowing Reno's preference. Barret on the other hand had never accepted them. Upset over the way that Tifa had been treated, he cut of all his ties to Cloud, even refusing to attend group outings if Cloud was going to be there. Cloud sighed, and lent close to the sleeping redhead.

"Wakey wakey sleepyhead" Cloud whispered as he nibbled on Reno's ear.

"Mmm I don't wanna"

"Oh, but then you'll miss all the fun" Cloud replied, slowly trailing his hand down Reno's chest and under the sheet…

rrriiinnnggg!

"Ah fuck! Stupid fucken phone!" Cloud yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"You going to get that Cloud? Reno asked, fully awake.

"hn, I guess." Cloud grabbed a pair of boxers and stormed over to the phone.

"What do you want?" he growled into the phone as he roughly pulled his boxers on.

"Well hello to you too Cloud. What, did I interrupt something?" Tifa purred.

"You really want to know?"

"… No, not really."

Cloud sighed. "What can I help you with Tifa?"

"I'm just wondering if you're doing anything over the next few days."

"No, nothing planned as of yet."

"Well, why don't you join me and the rest of the gang out at Mideel, as a holiday get together. Barret's staying here to run Jouissance, so you don't have to worry about making waves. I guess you could even bring Reno along," Tifa added in, with less enthusiasm.

"Na, he's busy. I'll come though. When and where?"

"Cid's going to be doing the rounds with the Highwind tomorrow morning so around 11am good for you?"

"Yeah that's fine. Oh yeah Tifa, I was wondering, who organised this?"

"Reeve did, I was surprised that he invited us, but he said that it was a group reunion, with no ties to business. I don't have anything against Reeve personally, just his company, so I decided to go along. Barret refused but that didn't surprise Reeve. Why?"

"Just curious" Cloud answered, glancing towards Reno. "See you tomorrow."

"Sure, bye!" Cloud hang up the phone and turned towards the bed.

"Reno babe,"

"Yeah Cloud?"

"I'm no big fan of coincidence, but I'm finding it a bit strange that you have to go on a top secret mission over the next couple of days and Suddenly Reeve's throwing a big do for the same amount of time, inviting both Tifa and Barret along for the fun" Cloud said silkily as he wrapped his arms around the waist of the sitting redhead.

"So?"

"So, there must be something going on concerning Jouissance, and you've been sent to deal with it." Reno looked down, unwilling to lie to his lover.

"I can't say Cloud, but it won't put your friends in danger, I can promise you that."

"Really? Can I trust you enough to believe that?"

"Of course you can Cloud!" Reno exploded. "We've been together for 8 years and your asking me that! I've trusted you with information that no one else knows, the least you can do is be able to trust me on this."

Cloud sighed and nuzzled into Reno's neck.

"I'm sorry Reno, I trust you, but you must remember that you're also a Turk and my friends are opposing your company. That mix generally doesn't bond well, especially with the secrecy. They are my friends, even Barret, and I don't want to see them get hurt. I trust you, but as a Turk… you do what you have to for the sake of your company."

Reno sighed and wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulder, planting a kiss on the top of his head.

"I hear ya Cloud. It's nothing like that, I promise you. I'm not sure why Reeve's holding the get together. It might be because of the mission, but most likely he finally took my suggestion to have a holiday, but," Reno intoned seriously, "You mustn't say anything about your suspicions to Reeve or Tifa. Reeve would rather work side by side with Tifa than against her, and if there is anything suspicious going on concerning the two, there won't be a chance for that. Promise me."

"I promise." Reno captured Clouds' lips in a passionate kiss.

"Good. Now that that's been sorted, how about we go find something to eat, and you can get back to showing me what fun I would have been missing…" Reno said suggestively.

"Or maybe," said Cloud, capturing Reno's fingers in his mouth, sucking on each one suggestively, "We could just skip dinner and have some of that fun now" as his hand wondered downwards. Reno just grinned.

--------- ---------- ---------- ------------- -------------- ------------- ----------- ----------- ------

The dark figure dropped from the air vent and glanced around. Shortly after Cloud had left, Reno had started preparing for his night's work, going over stolen floor plans and working out his plan of action. Nightfall had seen Reno crawling through the air vents until he reached the 3rd floor, leaving him to climb the last remaining floors to the presidential office, where he would find the relevant files and clues that he was to recover, and get out of there.

_'Piece of cake'_

Reno arranged his trench coat so that he was able to access his weapons with little fuss, though he doubted that he would need them, and walked towards the stairs. It was then that he ran into Barret Wallace.


	7. Gaia Tensions

Disclaimer: Plots mine, nothing else is

Warning: Sorry I forgot to add these to the other chapters, I hope I haven't upset anyone. This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

Udonluvr – I will eventually be crossing them over, but at the moment I'm just introducing the characters and setting the background scenes, but the two worlds should meeting within the next 2 chapters. Hopefully this chapter should clear you up a bit about the child Vincent (who I'll refer to as Vince later on so not to get him confused with Vincent). His identity was meant to be confusing.

Chapter 5

"You!"

Barret thundered as he caught sight of Reno. "What are you doing here!"

"If I told you that, then you'll missing all the fun of guessing" Reno retorted as he jumped out of the range of Barret's fists. Barret had aged over the years, but was still a large, fit man with a temperament that bordered on nonexistent. Reno didn't feel like being on the wrong end of his fists.

"I'd love to stay and chat, see how close you can get to guessing my motives, but I'm rather busy at the moment, so I'll just leave you to it" Reno said as he took off down the hallway, looking for a nearby exit.

"Oh no yoo don't turkey. Get back here so I can pummel yoo!" Barret gave chase. Reno started down the hallway, checking each door to see if he could escape. So far, all the doors had been locked, and Reno was running out of hallway. Reno tried opening one of the last doors, which opened, much to his surprise. Without wasting time, Reno entered the room and took a quick look about. He had entered a large office area, with rows of offices set up with the portable walls, and a fire exit on the far side. Spotting it, Reno headed towards the exit

BAM!

The door flew open, letting the steaming Barret in.

"I'm gonna blast ya brains out turkey!" He screamed, letting lose a round of bullets from his gun arm. Reno ducked under a desk as the bullets splayed across the room, sending plaster, plastic and wood flying. When the bullets stopped, Reno quickly scrambled up and continued towards the door. As he was closing in, he was hit from behind by a large force, and found himself pinned to the ground.

"Ha ha, gotcha now ya turkey."

"Not for long fuck face."

Reno bucked, forcing the large man to fly off backwards, with Reno's fist following, smashing into Barret's face. The sound of breaking bones followed the hit, as a burst of blood sprayed from Barret's nose.

"Ahhhhh!" Barret screamed, clutching his face. Reno stood up, grinning.

"Teach you for fucking around with me."

Barret roared and let lose a wild swing, catching Reno in the stomach, sending him flying into one of the makeshift offices, hitting the table with a sickening crunch as the table and Reno's ribs broke on contact. Spitting out blood, Reno watched as Barret closed in with a feral grin on his face, enhanced by the blood pouring down his face.

"Whatcha gonna do now, ya little punk." Barret said as he reached for Reno's neck. Reno's hand reached around wildly, looking for some kind of weapon. Hand enclosing around a hard object, Reno lifted his arm up, ignoring the pain from his broken ribs, and brought his hand down on top of Barret's head, knocking the older man unconscious with a sicking thud. Realising that Barret wasn't going to arise anytime soon, Reno dropped the makeshift weapon, and hobbled towards the exit.

'Fuck, Reeve's not going to bet too happy with this…'

-------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ----------------------------

Tifa was happily lounging around the pool, working on her tan and watching Cloud from the corner of her eye. Despite accepting the fact that Cloud was with Reno, she had never given up hope that Cloud would one day come to his senses and return to her. The days had been relaxing, with everyone enjoying themselves. Back in the airship when they had picked up Reeve, she had been a bit tense, But Reeve had smiled and asked her how she had been, and even congratulated her on Jouissance's success in opening up a weapons department, she had relaxed. The rest of the pick-ups had gone smoothly, except for when they had picked up Cloud. Reno had spotted her looking out the window and had pulled Cloud into a long, passionate kiss, pressing into Cloud and running his hands up and down Cloud's body, giving the blonde's arse a squeeze as they pulled apart, grinning her way. Yuffie had given them a loud wolf whistle waving at them, causing Cloud to blush and Reno to laugh as he waved back. Cid had looked away, uncomfortable with the whole display, muttering something about bedrooms and privacy, while Reeve just shook his head, grinning at Reno's antics. Tifa hadn't thought that it was the least bit funny, and had sulked off to talk to Cid, ignoring Cloud, who was catching up with Nanaki. She eventually came round and was talking to Cloud about his new book by the time Highwind had arrived at Mideel. From then on, the group had been relaxing and catching upon the times, with even Vincent adding in his two cents.

"Excuse me mam, but would you happen to be Ms. Lockheart?"

Tifa looked up to se one of the hotel's bellboys standing beside her.

"Yes, I am."

"Ummm," the boy said, trying to tear his eyes away from her cleavage. "This message just arrived for you, with a note saying that it was urgent mam," he said, handing her a white envelope with her name printed clearly on the front.

"Thank you" Tifa said, smiling as the blushing boy quickly took off, tripping over the table leg as he left. Still smiling, she tore open the envelope; smile quickly disappearing as she read the contents, bolting off the find the others.

------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------

They were all gathered around Barret's bedside, having come as soon as they had heard the news. Even Reeve and Cloud were there, despite not being on the best terms with Barret. Upon seeing Barret's condition, Cloud had given a quick glance at Reeve, but he had appeared as shocked as the others.

"It seems that he was attacked last night as he was leaving the office after hours. No one had seen the attacker, nor did they show up on camera, so who ever did this was a pro, and knew exactly what they were doing" a policeman told Tifa, who was sitting next to Barret, shell shocked. The door quietly flung open, emitting an old doctor, carrying a file in his hands.

"Excuse me," the doctor said, "I have the test result here."

"So, what's wrong with him?" Yuffie demanded.

"It appears that the patient was hit over the back of his head where the neack is connected, cracking his skull – he was lucky, the blow wasn't done with to much force, or he would be dead by now. The spinal cord looks to have taken some damage, but we can't really tell until he wakes up."

"And when will he wake up?" Tifa asked softly.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that mam" The doctor replied apologetically. "He took a nasty blow to the head, so he could be out for a while, or maybe just for a few hours."

Vincent turned to the policeman standing in the corner of the room.

"Do you know exactly what happened?" he intoned neutrally, watching with a smirk as the policeman paled, recognising the Second in Command of the Turks.

"Well, um, around 11pm last night, Barret left his office and went to exit the building via the stairs, most likely meeting the intruder at the 3rd floor. He gave chase, following the intruder down to one of the office rooms. It was here that signs of conflict were found, with bullet holes most likely from Barret's gun arm covering the place, and a broken desk from what looks to be from the intruder. Barret was found near the broken desk face down with a broken chair leg beside him. From the looks of it, Barret had thrown the attacker into the desk, and was leaning down to apprehend him when the attacker hit him over the head with the chair leg, taking off through the fire exit. Some employee's discovered him early this morning, and called the police and ambulance."

"Any suspects?"

"Not at this time and moment sir. The intruder was a pro, leaving no marks, fingerprints, or any cluse to his identity, though we still need to give the office a more thorough check. The only thing we have is that it was most likely a large male working alone, to have that kind of force to be able to do this to Mr. Wallace, considering his position at the time of the blow…"

'Or maybe a thin, mako-enhanced Turk' Cloud thought, scowling. Suddenly he whipped around, heading towards the door.

"Hey Cloud, where you going?"

"Out for a while. I'll be back soon."

---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- ----------------------------------

"Owwww" Reno whimpered as he taped up his ribs. Despite the mako in his system, he had taken quite a beating, with several broken ribs, a baldly sprained leg, a large gash across his forehead and other multiple cuts from the desk, and more bruises that he could count.

 ' At least I've stopped coughing up blood.'

Reno had managed to get back home, glad that Cloud wasn't there to see him in his state, covered in blood and not looking to healthy. Passing out on the lounge floor, Reno had awoken a few hours before, and had settled in to cleaning himself up.

'Ow, fucken Barret, the dumbarse stupid cunt. Break my ribs will he. I hope his nose is really hurting today' he thought as he wrapped another roll of bandaged around his injured ribs. Carefully placing a clean t-shirt on he turned around, only to see Cloud standing there, glaring angrily at the Redhead, fists clenched and eyes narrowed.

"You lied."

-------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -------------------------------

"You lied" Cloud grated out, glaring at the redhead in front of him.

"I didn't…"

"Yes. You. Did." Cloud yelled. "You promised that nothing would happen to my friends, and now Barret is in hospital because of you."

"Look, Cloud. I didn't mean to. He surprised me. Besides, it's only a broken nose…"

"Just a broken nose?!" Reno, Barret is in a coma because of you, with possible spinal injuries and brain damage!"

"He attacked me! I had to defend myself! He would have killed me if I hadn't!"

"Shut up Reno, just shut up!" Cloud screamed, placing his hands on his head. "You said to trust you, that you promise that nothing would happen, and I did, believing you like a fool, thinking you were right, that this wasn't a normal Turk mission, but you lied, and now one of my friends lies in hospital with a good chance of never waking up again. You lied to me Reno, straight to my face. For all I know, your whole intention was to go for Barret."

"No it wasn't Cloud, I can assure you of that."

"How Reno. Nothing was gone, nothing was destroyed, nothing was sabotaged, just an unconscious Barret and a broken desk."

"That's because he interrupted me before I could…"

"Enough Reno. Just shut up. Just shut up and get away from me." Cloud's voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't want to see you again Reno. Good bye." Cloud turned around and left the room.

"Fine." Reno grabbed his trench coat and wallet, leaving the house with a slamming of the door. It was only then that Cloud dropped his guard and sobbed.

----------------------------- -------------------------------------- -----------------------------------

"What happened Reno? You were only meant to be investigating, not bloody attacking people."

"Dunno" Reno replied dejectly, not really focusing on Reeve's words. 'Oh Cloud…'

"… Reno. Hey, Reno, pay attention. This is serious. If Barret wakes up and identifies you as the attacker, we are fucked" Reeve said. "You fucked up Reno, Real bad. Now we have to get this covered up and dealt with, before anyone finds out about it."

"Yes sir."

"Damn, right on the eve of the IGPTA ((the Intergalactic Planetary Trade Association)) meeting as well. Just the worst timing ever. Fuck." Reeve said, pacing behind his desk.

"Not really sir, if you think about it" came Vincent's cold voice from behind, causing both of them to jump.

"Vincent?"

"It reeked of Turk work, despite the obvious bumbling. Now, with this trade agreement, it would require both you and Tifa right? Well with you and her there, and most likely the others, it would leave someone here free to sort things out, gather the information, plant a false trail, and so forth unhindered. With all the attention being focused on the Trade Agreement, it would be done easily without fuss."

"Great Vincent. We can get Rude and Elena to take care off that, while both you and Reno accompany me to Earth, with some of the new recruits. That way, if something was to happen, as much as I would hate it too, it would less likely lead back to us, though," Reeve added, "I wouldn't like anything to happen to Barret if possible. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" Reno and Vincent said, taking their leave, leaving Reeve to continue his pacing in peace. Entering the elevator and pressing the button for their floor, Reno was surprised when Vincent hit the stop button, halting the elevator's descent.

"So, what's wrong?"

Reno looked surprised.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie. It was easy to see that your mind was else where back in the office, or you would of found a solution without my input. That's not like you Reno, to be distracted from your work, so what gives?"

Reno sighed. "Cloud."

"Cloud what?"

"Cloud knew I was going on a mission at the same time as the party. When he heard about Barret he put 2 and 2 together and got 5."

And?"

"He got made, yelled a bit and then kicked me out, saying that he never wants to see me again."

"Ouch."

"You got that right. He wouldn't even listen to me, didn't want to hear me out, and ignored what I did manage to say, preferring to believe the worst of me, and… oh sorry, I didn't mean to go like that, I doubt you wanted to hear about my troubles" Reno said sheepishly.

"Don't be. Despite what most people think, I am quite interested in what's going on around me. I class both you and Cloud as good friends of mine, and I care what happens to the two of you. There's nothing you can do while he's like this. Give him some time to calm down a bit and hope for the best. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here ok?" Reno looked at the older man.

"Thanks." Vincent just nodded and pressed the start button, starting the elevator's downward descent.

----------------------------- --------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

Tifa sat in the office that she and Barret shared, reading over reports. She had stayed by Barret's side until her secretary called her, informing her of files and reports that needed her attention. After leaving the hospital instructions to call her if there was any change to Barret's condition, Tifa went back to the office, only to find Rude and Elena talking to the policemen investigating the attack. After explaining that Reeve had sent them in good faith, she left them to do their work, while she went to do hers. Picking up a report, she glanced over it, signed and placed it in the out pile.

'Boring. Hay, what's this?'

Tifa picked up a folder, which had been hidden under the piles of paperwork.

'Ah, that's right, the trade agreement'. She frowned. The trade agreement was coming up soon. Barret was originally meant to attend, but with him in hospital, it wasn't likely that he would be able to attend, leaving Tifa to do it, though it meant that she had to leave Barret. She would of missed it, but if she did, then Reeve would snatch it all up, instantly gaining more power, something that she could not allow.

Rriiinnngggg

The phone rang, disturbing Tifa from her thoughts.

"Hello, Tifa Lockheart speaking"

"Hi Tif, I just heard what had happened to Barret from Cid. I'm so sorry that he's hurt" came Shera's concerned voice from over the phone.

"Thank you Shera" Tifa replied.

"How do you think you'll cope with the day to day business? If you need some extra help I can always give you a hand."

Actually, I might need more than a little help. You see, there's this trade meeting I need to attend  - Cid's most likely told you about it already."

"Yeah. He so excited about it."

"Yeah well, originally Barret was to attend, while I stayed here to operate the business, but with recent events, I have to go myself and leave my vice president in charge. The problem is that she hasn't much experience and I was wondering if you could help her out, make sure she's doing ok, that is, if you're not to busy with the girls and everything."

"Of course not. I'll help out, and keep an eye on Barret as well" Shera replied, answering Tifa's unasked question.

"Thanks Shera."

"No problems." The two females gossiped for a while before Shera had to go and deal with her broad. Tifa hung up the phone and read over the file.

'I will get this deal.'

------------------------------- --------------------------------------- --------------------------------

"So Cloud honey, you going to the IGPTA meeting?" Yuffie asked. The two were sitting in Cloud's living room, with Yuffie siting on the breakfast bar, swinging her legs and watching Cloud as he repacked his suitcase for the 50th time.

"Yes. Hence the bags Yuffie" Cloud replied wearily.

"Who you going with?"

"Tifa."

"Tifa? I figured you would be going with Reeve and Reno." Cloud looked away.

"Tifa needs my support more than they do." Yuffie looked at Cloud. Over the last week there had been a slight change over the blonde, a slight air of sadness, and the coldness that he use to display back when they were travelling together. She narrowed her eyes.

"You two had a fight, didn't you" she accused. "I might be younger than you, but I'm not as naive as you think." Cloud looked at Yuffie. True, she had grown up a lot over the years. She still had the same hairstyle, but had lost the short shorts for more sensible jeans and boots, though she still kept her style for leaving the button undone, for reason only known to Yuffie. Despite the seemly childish behaviour that she displayed at times, she was more sensible than before, and had developed a good business sense, allowing her to open up several profitable materia businesses all over the world, with most of the profits going into the rebuilding of Wuati. Still, despite that, Cloud still thought of her as a young child, a mistake when it concerned Yuffie.

"Maybe."

"No, not maybe. Yes or no."

"… Yeah, I guess we did."

"I wondered why I haven't seen him around lately. When's he coming back?"

"I don't think he is."

Reno had came back a few days after the fight to try to talk to Cloud. He hadn't wanted to hear it, resulting in another loud row and Reno storming off, saying that if Cloud didn't want to see him again, then it was fine by him as he didn't want to see Cloud again either. When Cloud had arrived home from helping Yuffie with her shop in Neo-Midgar, Reno's stuff was gone and the spare key was on the table.

"WHAT! What the hell did you guys fight about? Surely it wasn't that bad?"

Cloud hesitated, not wanting to tell her the reason for the fight.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it."

"So, you two have broken up. That's so sad. You were both good for each other. I thought you two would of lasted" Yuffie said sadly.

"Yeah well, there's no point staying with someone who you can't trust" Cloud replied bitterly.

"True, but sometimes things happen that puts your trust on the line, whether or not they wanted to. Maybe all you guys need to do is sit down and talk to each other, and _listen_ to what the other has to say" Yuffie replied thoughtfully.

"Maybe," Cloud replied, "but not now, not yet."

"Maybe so, but it would be wise not to leave it for to long, or you may never be able to repair the rift."

"Hn."

"Ok ok, change the subject I know. Mmmm, lets get back to the IGPTA then. How will you be appearing? As a bodyguard? Adviser? Cheerleader?"

Cloud glanced at Yuffie.

"Cheerleader?"

"OH yeah, I can just see you in those tight tops and mini skirts with Pom Poms attached to your arms, cheering for Tifa on the sidelines" Yuffie teased as she watched Cloud's face fall at the image.

"Mmmm, pink and white would be your colours I think" she added in, and was rewarded with a cushion in her face.

"Now, seriously, what you going as?"

"I guess a bit of bodyguard and advisor. Who you going with?"

"Reeve asked me to come along a while ago, but it doesn't mean that I'll be ignoring you guys."

"I hope not. Who else would I poke fun at when I'm bored?" Yuffie poked her tongue out at the smiling blonde.

"Well, if you ever get bored, you could always plan your make-up speech for Reno…"

"Don't you ever give up?"

"Nope."

"Why do I even bother?"

"Cuz you like the challenge."

"Give me 3 good reasons why I should make up with Reno."

"1) He's hot, 2) You both love each other to bits and 3) to benefit form the mind-blowing make-up sex that's bound to come after it."

"Yuffie!"

------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

Reno sat on the rooftop of the Neo-Shinra building, watching the stars come out. It was 2 days before they had to leave for Earth, and it had been 3 weeks since he had last seen Cloud. He went back a few days after the fight, but Cloud had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Reno, So when Cloud went to work at Yuffie's, Reno went in and grabbed his stuff. Cowardly he knew, but he didn't want to have another clash with Cloud. He could only take so much.

'8 years and it's all over because of some stupid mistake.' Reno had figure that the time away on Earth would give him plenty of time to get over Cloud and move on, but he found out from Reeve that Cloud was going with Tifa. Trying to distract himself, he went over the files concerning the conference, when he had came across a list of names of the SEEDs attending that made his blood run cold. Among the list was the name Seifer Almasy. That was not good news. He had spent the last 10 years protecting the kid, destroying files concerning the boy, and removing all traces of his existence. Sure, they might have forgotten about the boy, but one look at him and they will know instantly that he was Rufus' little boy, and his life would be forfeit. It had been a while since he had heard from Vincent ((Vince)); the last letter was over a year ago, when he was to sit his field exam.

'He must of passed if he's in SEED now.'

"Now, not only did Reno have to worry about protecting Reeve, but Vincent as well. Not even Reeve knew that he was still alive, believing that he had perished along with his father. Reno wanted him to keep thinking that. He had worked hard to give Vincent a new life, and he wasn't about to let it all go to waste. 'Well, I can't do anything about it now, not until I get there. Vincent's a smart kid, he'll keep out of harms way.'

The stars glistened and the day of the departure grew nearer.

------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

an/ chapter 5 is now done, and I guess we're finally getting somewhere. I'm not too sure I like the way I portrayed Barret. I'm trying not to bash any characters, though I don't like Tifa much and I HATE Rinoa for some strange reason, but it shouldn't affect my writing too much I hope. I actually made Yuffie a bit wise here, for reasons unknown to me. Remember to read and review, friendly criticism is welcomed. Next chapter we'll be back with Seifer and Squall.


	8. Earth Return to Garden part 1

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FFVII/VII, not me.

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

Chapter 6

They arrived back at Balamb Garden in the early morning, trying to avoid the morning rush of students. For this Seifer was glad. He wanted to be prepared before he was introduced to the student body. The two SEED's and ex student made their way up to Squall's office to get an early morning coffee and to deal with the paperwork. After filling out form after form, Quistis rose and stretched.  
"Well, I'm off now guys. I have to go and prepare for class. Play nice." And hurried off to her dorm, leaving the two alone in Squall's office.  
"So Squall, where will I be staying? In my old room?"  
Squall shook his head.  
"No, in my room for now. You'll be sleeping on the futon until it's deemed alright for you to move back into your dorm."  
"And my stuff?"  
"All packed away in storage."  
"Who did that?"  
"Me."  
Squall packed up the last of the paperwork and headed towards the door.  
"Well, come on. I want to get you there and settled in before the rush to class starts."  
Seifer followed the smaller brunette down the corridor until they stop in front off a white door.  
"The code is 4-9-2-1. Remember that."  
"Yeah sure. 4-9-2-1. Got it."  
Squall punched in the code, letting the two males enter the apartment room.  
"Wow, being headmaster sure has it's perks."  
It was a large apartment; complete with a kitchen, a _private_ bathroom, dinning room and lounge that housed a large flat screen TV and a flash stereo system. The main décor of the place consisted of black a grey chrome - diffidently Squalls influence, but the tacky flower prints on the wall suggested that Rinoa got her little bit in.  
"Hey, Rinoa won't be staying in here as well, would she?"  
"Na, she's staying with Selphie for the duration of your stay here, much to her dismay." Squall replied.  
"Thank god. No offence, but I can't handle that bloody 'high ol mighty' attitude of hers. Drives me around the bend. How do you put up with it Squall? I wouldn't of taken you for someone who goes for that type of lady."  
Squall walked over and dropped the pile of paperwork down onto the dinning room table.  
"She needs me and it was what everyone expected me to do."  
"Do you care for her?"  
Squall fidgeted with his jacket sleeve, uncomfortable with the subject.  
"That's none of your business," Squall replied coldly.  
"Oh, touchy subject I see," Seifer said, flopping down on the couch. "So this is my bed?"  
"Yeah. The kitchen's there, bathroom's up the hallway. Help yourself to the food but clean up after yourself. Here's a list of the subjects to choose from. I need it back tonight. Don't have the stereo on loud and don't go outside unless you have to. Many won't take your presence to kindly. I'll be in my office. Just press F1 on the speed dial if you need me," Squall rattled off, grabbing a piece of fruit and headed back to his office, leaving Seifer alone in his new surroundings.  
_'Squall's place huh? Lets see what I can dig up on puberty boy here.'  
_Glancing around, Seifer spotted his first target – the bedroom.  
_'Oh yeah, if there's anything juicy on a person, its in the bedroom.'_  
Pushing the door open slowly, Seifer stuck his head into the darkened room.  
_'Looks like Squally boy has some personality after all.'_  
In the middle of the room was a large king-size canopy bed, neatly made and covered with a back satin duvet cover with golden Chinese symbols embroidered on it. The four pillows matched the cover. Seifer bet that he would find satin sheets under the quilt. On the bedside sat a gold and black lamp and alarm clock. Seifer walked over and turned on the lamp, which emitted a soft glow. Across from the bed sat a large dressing table with a mirror, tarnished with a dark varnish that made the wood look almost black in colour. Gold rimmed the mirror as well, making it stand out against the darkened wood. Looking at the placement of the mirror and the bed, Seifer let out a chuckle.  
_'So Squall has a kinky side to him after all.'_  
Overall, the room had a mysterious, sexy feel to it. Seifer liked it. Seifer strode over to the wardrobe and flung the doors open. It was here that Rinoa's presence was felt. Dresses, dresses and more dress's filled the wardrobe, with only a few items that looked to be Squall's.  
_'Imagine what the room would look like when she's choosing her outfit. Poor neat freak Squall would have a heart attack.'_  
Seeing nothing of interest in the wardrobe, he closed the door and went back to the bed. Flinging himself down, he spotted a piece of fabric sticking out form under the pillow. Pulling on it, Seifer let out a laugh.  
_'Yep, diffidently a kinky Squall we have here. Bondage huh? I wonder who'd the one tied up? Him or her?'_  
Still musing over the thought, Seifer pulled opened the bedside table drawer.  
_'Mmmm, lets see, pen – boring, book on accounting – boring, unopened packet of condoms – a bit more interesting, looks like puberty boy's not getting any lately, and a photo frame?'_  
Seifer pulled out the frame. In it was a picture of the group at the orphanage, back when Seifer had first arrived. Irvine and Selphie were on the far left side of the photo, hugging and smiling for the camera. Zell stood next to them grinning while trying to do bunny ears to Quistis, who was standing tall and prim, a small smile gracing her face. Standing separate from the rest were two boys, a small sad looking brunette with bangs falling in his face, and standing next to him with his arm around his shoulder stood a younger vision of himself, looking bored. Staring at the photo for a few minutes, Seifer shook his head and replaced the photo back into the drawer. After taking one final look around the room, Seifer got up and left the room, heading towards the kitchen. It was brighter here, with a large window letting in the sunlight. _'Spotless and sterile – so different from his room.'_  
Stomach growling, Seifer decided to hunt down some food before he wasted away.  
_'Hope he's stocked his fridge up good,'_ Seifer thought as he reached for the fridge door. His hand stopped as he saw a photo stuck to the door. It was almost the excat same as the photo he saw in Squall's drawer, except it was a more recent one, and instead of Seifer standing by Squall's side, Rinoa was found instead, arms wrapped around Squall's waist, beaming at the camera.  
_'Looks like the found a replacement for me then.'_  
Not feeling very hungry anymore, Seifer just grabbed an apple, threw himself down on the couch, and waited for the day to pass.

------------------------------------ --------------------------------- -------------------------------

Squall finished signing the last piece of paper and threw down his pen, sighing. He had just spent the last 3 hours signing papers, which had built up over his absence, leaving him with a sore wrist and a moody disposition. Leaning back in his chair and running his hands threw his hair, Squall let himself enjoy the few moments of peace, letting his mind wonder, which inevitably returned to Seifer, and awful habit he had gotten into since Seifer was found.  
_'I wonder how he's doing? It must be hard for him to come back here. Hope he doesn't go through my room.'_  
When they had reached Balamb Garden, Seifer had been tense and strangely silent, relaxing only when he was safe in Squall's room. As soon as he had delivered Seifer to his room, Squall quickly took off, trying to banish the memory of Seifer's golden hair glimmering in the early morning light as they walked through Garden, unwilling to even think about the tightening in his stomach that came with the memory.  
_'Maybe I should check up on him,'_ Squall thought, picking up the finished paperwork and placing it into his outbox.  
"Squall sir," Squall pressed the button on his intercom.  
"Yes Xu?"  
"There seems to be a disturbance by your room sir. Apparently Zell's screaming and kicking at your door, causing a big ruckus." Squall sighed. Zell had found out.  
"I'll get onto it."  
"Ok sir."  
Sighing again, Squall grabbed his jacket and made his way down to Zell.

---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ --------------------------

"Open the door you jackass piece of shit!"  
"Zell!"  
Zell turned around to find Squall standing in the middle of the hallway, anger on evident in his gaze.  
"What are you doing to my door?"  
Zell stormed towards Squall.  
"I can't believe you let him back in! Are you mad? He can't be trusted!"  
"That's my decision to make Zell," Squall said stonily, pushing past the steaming blonde, "And I happen to trust him enough to leave him alone in my room all day. Now go away and calm down before I book you for disturbance of the peace and wilful damage to Garden property. I'll see you in my office once you've calmed down. Tell the others that as well."  
"Tsh, fine," Zell mumbled, slinking off down the hallway. Shaking his head, Squall glanced at the few SEED's that had gathered, causing them to suddenly find something that required their immediate attention. When the hallway was cleared, Squall punched in his code and entered the room.  
"Seifer?" Squall looked around the room. "Seifer, you still here?"  
Seeing the blonde's foot hanging off the edge of the couch, Squall went over to the lounge.  
"Seifer, you..." Squall stared dumbfounded.  
_'I don't believe it! He slept through all that?'_  
"Seifer, hey, wake up."  
"Eh what?" Seifer mumbled sleepily as he opened a single eye. "Go-way, I'm sleeping."  
"Is that all you've been doing all day?"  
"Yeah well its not as if I have anything else to do. Is it time to eat yet?" Seifer asked as he stood up to stretch, sculptured body clearly shown without the trench coat on. Squall blushed slightly, looking down at the ground, hoping that his ex-rival didn't see it.  
"I guess so."  
"Good, I'm starving. What you got?"  
"Um, pasta?"  
"Sounds good to me. I'll go cook. What was the ruckus outside?"  
_'So Seifer wasn't as asleep as he pretended to be.'_  
"Zell found out you were here."  
"He didn't take it to well?"  
"Nope. Let me do that. It's my kitchen."  
Seifer shook his head.  
"Na, let me do it. It gives me something to do and besides, I happen to make a killer macaroni and cheese, having to of lived off of the stuff for a while."  
Squall shrugged his shoulders and sat on the bench next to Seifer.  
"Whatever."  
The two worked in a comfortable silence, with only the clanging of pots and pans as Seifer prepared lunch for the two.  
"So..." Squall said, "How you feel about being back in Garden?"  
Seifer paused, thinking about his answer.  
"OK I guess. To tell you the truth I was a bit worried. I 'm glad I don't have to face anyone just yet, though that stays between us ok Squall" Seifer added in quickly as he served up lunch. Squall grabbed the cutlery and sat in front of one of the steaming plates. Seifer watched expectantly.  
"Well, eat up."  
Squall timidly picked up his fork and grabbed a mouthful of macaroni and cheese, cautiously taking a bite.  
"Mmmmm, this is good" Squall said.  
"Of course it is! I made it didn't I?"  
"Whatever."  
"Now now Squall, none of those one worded answers. I've been enjoying those sentences you've been showering on me – less work in interpreting you."  
Squall huffed as he took another mouthful.  
"Have you decided on your subjects yet?"  
"Yeah, I'll have the usual except I'll replace Junctioning with Advance Science 3."  
"Science?"  
"Yeah, Science."  
"What strand are you interested in?"  
"Genetics."  
"Interesting."  
Seifer placed his fork down.  
"Do you remember much about your childhood?"  
Squall gazed at Seifer, uncertain over the sudden change of subject.  
"Not really, just bits and pieces. You?"  
"Yeah. I didn't like to junction much. Some memories are too precious to lose for a few minutes of extra power."  
"What memories would hat be?"  
"My family."  
"Oh."  
Riinng  
Squall picked up the phone.  
"Yes?"  
"Zell and the others are waiting in your office."  
"Thanks Xu. I'll be right there."  
Squall cleared his empty plate off of the table.  
"I have to go and talk to the others now. Thanks for lunch Seifer, It was good."  
"Yeah well, the company wasn't so bad either. Its nice to know that we can spend a few minutes together without trying ti rip each other apart."  
Squall smiled on of his rare smiles.  
"Yeah, it was nice."  
The two stared at each other until Squall looked down, breaking eye contact.  
"I better get going" he said softly to the floor.  
"Yeah, can't keep the others waiting."  
Squall rushed out the room, green eyes burning in his mind.

----------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

Squall was greeted by the sight of three flustered SEED's and one pacing Zell upon arrival. The only one who was calm was Quistis, who was waiting just outside the office door.  
"Hi Squall."  
"Hey Quistis. How things up here?"  
"You're looking at it."  
"Has he clamed down a bit?" Squall whispered, looking in Zell's direction.  
"Kind of. None of them was expecting to have Seifer come back here. It's a bit of a shock to them."  
"What did they expect me to do? Tag him and set him free again?"  
Quistis smiled. "Actually yes, I do believe that that was their thoughts."  
"Oh well, I better go do some damage control then." Squall replied as he entered his office. Zell was the first to notice him.  
"Squall! Why the hell is he here! Why didn't you tell us?"  
"I am right now."  
"Why does he have to stay with you Squally poo?" Rinoa whined from the couch.  
"Yeah Squall, why does Rinoa have to stay with me? No offence Rinoa."  
"None taken."  
"Ok, quiet down, one question at a time. Seifer is here because he wants a second chance, which I granted. I haven't had time to get you together and tell you about him until now. Seifer has to stay with me until we are sure that he won't cause any trouble, and Rinoa's in Selphie's room cause that were I stuck her," Squall said as he sat down in his chair, gauging the other's reactions. "Any questions?"  
"Yeah," drawled Irvine. "Seifer was found over a month ago. Why is he suddenly appearing now, and where have you and Quistis been during that time?"  
"Making sure that Seifer wasn't going to make trouble. I didn't re-enter him on a whim. I made sure that he was going to take this seriously."  
Irvine shrugged his shoulders and lent back in the couch, apparently happy with the answer.  
'No need to tell them what happened.'  
"Is that all Squall?" Quistis asked, prompting Squall.  
"No. As you know, Seifer won't be getting a very warm welcome, if Zell's performance today was any indication. Because of this, I'm asking you to keep an eye on him, making sure he doesn't cause any trouble, or that the students hassle him. Any trouble is reported straight to me. DO NOT sort it out yourselves. Is that understood Zell?"  
"Loud and clear Squall."  
Squall reached over and grabbed a file from his desk.  
"Here is his subject list, so you know where he is. Get Xu to get you a copy each on your way out. Quistis, he will be in 3 of your classes, doing the basics again, except Junctioning. Will you please inform Professor Cohoon that Seifer will be attending his Advance Science 3 classes."  
"Advance Science 3? You sure he's up to it? That's a pretty high level"

_"Hey Seif, whatcha doing?"  
"Writing out a thesis paper on Genetical Manipulation for my assignment."  
"Wow, that's intense."  
"It's easy if you understand the lingo."  
"Where did you learn that?"_

_The young blonde stiffened.  
"Just here and there."_

"_Oh, can you help me with my science homework? I'm kinda stuck."  
"Yeah sure Squall" _

"Yeah, he can handle it."  
"Ok then." Quistis replied doubtfully.  
"Right, you guys now know what's happening and such. Treat him as you would a student and the students should follow your example. Dismissed."  
The others stood up and took their leave, except Rinoa. When the other had left she walked around Squall's desk and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips.  
"I waited until the others had left this time Squally poo."  
"Good girl Rinoa. What can I do for you?"  
"Why can't I stay with you?  
"Because it wouldn't be fair on Seifer and besides, you wouldn't want to share the place with Seifer anyway."  
"Your right, I still haven't forgiven him for giving me to Adel, but I don't see why we have to shuffle around to accommodate for him. He should just accept whatever you give him and be grateful for it. He doesn't deserve this special treatment, and the others would agree, except for Quistis."  
"What would you rather me do? Build him a dog house and throw him a bone every now and again?"  
"Yep, that sounds right. He's a pitiful loser who doesn't deserve the air he breathes."  
For some strange reason Squall felt oddly defensive for his ex rival.  
"Well I don't and I'm in charge so the arrangements stay as they are and I will hear no complaints about it," Squall replied coldly, glaring at the girl on his lap.  
"Oh, don't be like that Squall. Geez, you'd think that you preferred Seifer over me. Betcha he doesn't kiss as well as me though" Rinoa replied sultry, pulling Squall in for a kiss. Squall tilted his head so that she go his cheek instead and whispered into her ear.  
"You would know Rinoa. Tell me, was he any good?" Squall asked, suddenly curious.  
"Mmmm, yeah I guess. Very dominate. I prefer your lips any day though" She whispered back, unsure of where the questioning was heading.  
"Did you sleep with him?"  
"Squall!" Rinoa squealed, jumping off of his lap. "That's.."  
Squall pulled her back down onto his lap.  
"Just answer the question. Did you fuck Seifer Almasy or not. Just a simple yes or no answer" he said, nibbling on her ear.  
"... Yes, I did sleep with him."  
"Was he good?"  
"Squall, why do you want to know?"  
"Just curious. I never knew exactly what the relationship between you two was." Squall said, planting kisses down here neck.  
"Yes he was ok" Rinoa replied, arching her neck for more. "But I'm glad I ditched him before he showed what a dog he really was. I can't believe that I ever let that filthy thing touch me."  
Squall stopped, not feeling in the mood to play anymore.  
"Squall?"  
"I um, needed to work now Rinoa" Squall replied, genteelly pushing Rinoa off from his lap and picking up a random file.  
"Did I say something wrong? It was you who wanted to know the details you know. No need to get upset because Seifer's a good fuck."  
Squall shook his head.  
"It's not that Rinoa. I just remembered all the paperwork I have to do," he lied, giving her a peck on her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."  
"Ok" replied a disgruntled Rinoa as she left the office in a huff.  
'Ok, that was weird' Squall thought as he stared at the closed door.  
_'The first time I've wanted Rinoa in a long time, due to hearing about Seifer... I'm sick.'_ Squall placed his head on his hands.  
_'Why would hearing about Seifer's sex life turn me on? Why can't I stop thinking about that bloody sexy arse of his – not so sexy arse I'm mean. Or do I? What the hell. Damn it but I'm confused. Why is this happening to me. I'm with the girl who is supposably meant to be my perfect match, even though I don't care about her in that way, the perfect job, and yet I can't stop thinking about him. This is Seifer we're talking about, my ex-rival. I cannot – I am not, attracted to him. I am straight, not gay.'  
_'Then why do you get a hard on every time you imagine him without a top on?' a traitorous inner voice asked him.  
_'Oh go away. I don't need you to remind me of that. That's it. I'm going to the training center,'_ Squall finally declared in his head, tired of arguing with himself. Picking up his gunblade, Squall stormed out of his office, determined to make a few monsters pay for his turbulent thoughts.

------------------- ------------------------ ------------------------ --------------------- ---------

Seifer looked up as the door opened, letting in a very dirty, sweaty Squall.  
"Training center huh?"  
"Yes," Squall replied shortly. Dumping his gunblade on the table, he walked towards the bathroom, pulling his shirt off on the way, giving Seifer an eyeful before he slammed the door shut behind him.  
_'Nice'_ Seifer thought as he walked across to the bathroom door.  
"So, what pissed you off so much that you had to kill half the monsters in the training center?" Seifer asked, listening as Squall turned on the shower. Moments later belts hit the ground and the sound of the water spray lessened as Squall entered the shower. The thought of Squall naked just beyond the door excited Seifer more than he let on.  
_'It would be so easy just to open the door and... whoa, lets not go there.'  
_"Nothing that concerns you" Squall finally replied, words distorted by the door.  
"You want some dinner? I found some chicken in the fridge and stir-fry in the cupboard. I can whip us up something if you like?"

'_Hmmm, dinner with Rinoa or dinner with Seifer?'  
_"Sure then." _'Damn it, I was meant to say no_.'  
Excellent. I'll go put it on now then." Seifer replied, heading towards the kitchen.  
_'Why did I just agree to that?'_ Squall thought, as he washed his hair, making sure that it was thoroughly cleaned.  
_'I just choose my ex – MALE – rival over my girlfriend.'  
_Squall reached out unconsciously for the scented shower gel, lathering himself up generously. Turning off the shower, squall reached out and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist before opening the bathroom door, running straight into Seifer.  
"Ah, sorry Squall, I was just..." Seifer stumbled staring at his wet, hot nearly naked roommate, who was only an inch away from him.  
_'Just close enough to steal a kiss eh?'  
_"Just what?" prompted Squall; unsure of the look that was crossing Seifer's face. Seifer shook his head at the sound of Squalls voice.  
"Oh, what veggie's you would like to have in the stir fry." Seifer replied, tearing his gaze away from Squall's toned chest.  
"Ah, any will do," Squall replied softly, eyes in lock with Seifer's.  
"Yeah, well, I'll just get back to dinner then."  
"Yeah, and I'll just go get dressed," Squall mumbled as the two parted hastily. Practically running to his room, Squall slammed the door shut, closing his eyes as he lent against the door.  
_'What the hell just happened then? Seifer was looking at me as if I was ... something he wanted to eat. No no,'_ Squall thought, shaking his head.  
_'Seifer's not interested in me in that way, its just my imagination – was it?_' Squall thought confusingly as he pulled on some clean clothes.  
_'What if he had kissed me back then, would I of kissed him back?'  
Yesssss  
_Squall shook his head.  
_'Seifer's not interested in me. Its just my imagination, and I don't want to kiss those lips of his,'_ Squall thought weakly, not really believing himself. Checking his hair in the mirror, Squall took a deep breath and left the room, no sign of the confusion that he felt on his face.  
"Hey Squall, dinner won't be ready for a little while yet."  
"Whatever."  
Seifer stared at Squall as the brunette flung himself down on the couch, turning on the TV, ignoring the blonde. Seifer was still feeling confused about the incident before. The urge to kiss Squall on his full lips was almost unbearable, with Seifer resisting at the last moment.  
'I've never reacted that strongly to Squall before. Sure, I had my little fantasies about his arse before, but I've never wanted to act on my impulses so strongly around him. And it didn't look as though he would of stopped me if I did,' Seifer pondered as he stirred the vegies through. 'Whoa, what am I thinking? He's got a girlfriend. Way out of my league. As though Squall would be interested in me.'  
Dishing up two meals, Seifer called out "Dinner's Ready" before setting the plates down on the table. Squall sat down silently and started to eat.  
"So," Seifer finally said, "how did the others take it?"  
"Ok. They weren't jumping for joy over it."  
"I wouldn't expect them to. Tell me Squall, why did you let me back in? I mean, we didn't part on the best terms. I even had you tortured, but you don't seem to care about that. Why?"  
Squall looked up at Seifer, who was gazing at the table.  
"Because we're friends." Squall stated simply, continuing eating his meal.  
"You really think of me as a friend? After all I did?"  
Squall sighed and placed his fork down.  
"It wasn't really you doing all those things. I never hated you, not even before the war. I don't see why I should hate you now because of something you had no control over."  
"You don't think I'm weak, because of it?"  
"Of course not. She caught you unexpectedly. None of us was expecting a sorceress to pop out of nowhere. Under any other circumstance, I doubt you would of gone with her. By the way, why did you come to Timber that day?" Squall asked.  
"I don't know," Seifer mumbled evasively. "I guess it seemed fishy that Cid sent 3 unexperienced SEEDs for a job that needed at least one experienced SEED."  
"Ah," Squall said, not quite accepting Seifer's explanation.  
The two spent the rest of the meal in silence.  
"I've got your schedule here," Squall said as he placed the dishes into the sink. "You'll start next week. That should give you enough time to settle in."  
"Ok."  
Ring  
"Squall speaking."  
"Squall, where were you? You said you would meet us for dinner. Dinner was an hour ago and you never showed," Rinoa whined.  
"Sorry, got caught up with some paperwork concerning the IGPTA meeting coming up. I have to get this sorted out ASAP."  
"Ok then Squall, but don't do it again. I missed you. Selphie's staying at Irvine's tonight, you want to come over for a while?" Rinoa asked sultry.  
"Sorry Rinoa, I can't."  
"Fine then" Rinoa huffed, and hung up the phone without saying goodbye.  
"Yeah well, good bye to you too" Squall huffed at the phone before slamming it down.  
"Pissed off your girlfriend Squally?" Seifer called out. "Wouldn't expect you to know how to please a woman properly eh puberty boy," Seifer taunted.  
"Shove it Seifer."  
"Oh, but this is getting interesting. I mean, first you lied about what you were doing and then turned down a night of passionate sex with your girl."  
""How?"  
"I heard. She speaks rather loudly doesn't she?" Seifer smirked as Squall glared at him.  
"So why? Lost interest in her already, or do you prefer a little arse yourself?" Seifer taunted, smirking at Squall reaction.  
"Go fuck yourself Seifer."  
"What, and let you miss out on all the fun? Its always better with two," Seifer teased, pressing up close to Squall.  
"Seifer... Get Away From Me!" Squall yelled, pushing the laughing Seifer away as he grabbed his files and ran to his room.  
"Oh, touchy subject I see," Seifer called out to Squall retreating back. When Squall slammed his door shut, Seifer's smirk faded from sight as he lent against the wall.  
'Great one Seifer. Now he really wants you eh?' Seifer snorted and turned the TV on. A movie later Seifer got up and gently knocked on the door.  
"What."  
"Where do you keep the blankets?"  
"Cupboard next to the bathroom."  
"Thanks."  
Seifer grabbed a few blankets and settled down for the night, thoughts on a turbulent brunette with full, pouty lips.

* * *

ANSorry about the wait, I had many assignments to finish off. This chapter was originally longer, but when I went to type it up, it was twice as long than normal so I decided to split it up into two chapters. Got a bit of Squall/Seifer action there. There will be more in the next chapter though. I wasn't too sure about some of the parts in this chapter (squall/Rinoa in office), but I added them in anyway. Remember to read and review, helpful criticism always welcomed. Next chapter coming soon. 


	9. Earth Return to Garden Part 2

Disclaimer: Not Mine, Square-Enix

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

Return to Garden Part 2 

_"Oh Seifer! More! Now! OH!" Squall moaned, withering under the blonde. "Fuck me harder. Yesss more! OH HYNE!" the brunette screamed as Seifer hit the special spot inside him.  
"SEIFER!" he moaned, shaking his head in ecstasy as Seifer ran his mouth down his neck, nipping and kissing, emitting small moans from the smaller man.  
"Seifer, oh hyne Seifer. More, more, MORE! Oh Seifer. Harder, harder, harder!" the brunette panted, arching up against the thrusting blonde, head thrown back in passion.  
"Oh hyne Seifer, I'm cumming, I'm cumming... AHHHH!"_

Seifer woke up with a start; sweat dripping down his body as he drew ragged breaths. Quickly looking around, Seifer checked for any sign of Squall. Seeing none, Seifer rushed into the bathroom before Squall could see his reaction to the dream.  
_'Oh hyne. This calls for a cold shower,_' Seifer thought, turning on the cold tap and jumping in, holding back a shout as the freezing cold water hit his heated body. It was only when he was shivering that he got out of the shower, grabbing a towel.  
_'Fuck...'_  
A knocking on the door startled Seifer.  
"Seifer, why the hell you taking a shower at 6am in the morning for?"  
"Sorry Squall, I didn't mean to wake you up," Seifer replied, blushing as images of a panting Squall came to mind.  
"Hn." Squall said, walking away from the bathroom. Letting out a breath, Seifer waited for a few moments before getting dressed and leaving the bathroom.  
"Ah Squall?"  
"Yes Almasy?" Squall asked stonily, pouring himself a coffee.  
"I just wanted to say sorry, for what I said last night."  
Squall looked up at the blonde, who was looking down at the ground, awaiting Squall's reply.  
"Ok. Apology accepted," Squall finally said. Seifer grinned at the brunette before grabbing a cup of coffee for himself.  
"We're going to Balamb this morning and get your supplies for your lessons," Squall said, reaching out for his wallet.  
"I'm going to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. You coming?"  
Seifer hesitated.  
"There's not many people there at this time," Squall added.  
"It's not that," Seifer replied, a little to quickly. "Yeah sure, I'll come."  
The two left Squall's room and headed down towards the cafeteria. There were only a small group of students talking among themselves at the cafeteria. When Seifer entered, they fell silent, staring at Seifer until Squall came up behind him. They quickly reverted back to their conversation, now spoken in hushed tones, with glances thrown towards Seifer.  
_'It starts.'_  
"Are you going to move any time soon Seifer?" Seifer started.  
"Sorry Squall."  
Squall pushed past, whispered, "just ignore them" and continued up to the counter.  
"One muffin please. What do you want Seifer?"  
"2 ham and cheese croissants, 3 muffins, 1 egg on toast and a bowl of cereal please."  
The cafeteria lady went to get their orders, eyes lingering on Seifer. The two men found a table hidden away from prying eyes. Taking a bite out of his muffin, Squall pulled out some paperwork.  
"What's that about?" Seifer finally asked.  
"... The Intergalactic Planetary Trade Association meeting. SEED is to manage the security for it."  
"Who's coming?"  
"Both Galbadia and Esther will be attending, plus several leaders from other planets. It's a big thing, and I'm flat out trying to find the people to do it."  
"I'll help," Seifer said suddenly, surprising himself. "I might not be the best person around, considering my history, but I can always work behind the scenes, that is, if you want me to Squall."  
Squall looked at the blonde.  
"Yeah sure. I'll find you something to do."  
Seifer smiled. "Thanks Squall," and set to work on his meal.  
_'Wow, he looks beautiful when he smiles like that... bad thought'_ Squall blushed at the thought.  
"You ok Squall?" Seifer mumbled through a mouthful. "You look a little flush."  
"I'm fine."  
"Squall! Hey Squall! Over here!"  
The two squirmed as Selphie's loud cry filled their ears.  
"Hey Squall, what you doing over ... oh, Seifer" she finished, more quietly than before.  
"Hi Selphie," Seifer mumbled in response, tensing at the new arrival.  
"Hello Selphie, your up early," Squall said, distracting the glaring brunette. Squall heard a small sigh of relief from Seifer as she turned towards Squall, smile at full beam once more.  
"Rinoa snores."  
"Ahhh. I thought you were at Irvine's last night."  
Selphie huffed as she plonked her tray down next to Squall.  
"Don't talk to me about that, that person!"  
"What's he done this time?"  
"Well, it was our anniversary last night – we've been together for 9 months now you know, so I decided to have a special evening with him, with dinner, soft music, you know the drill. So I go to his room all dressed up in my sexy dress and..."  
"And?"  
"And he didn't even notice me! He just sat and watched his basketball game, ignoring me!" Selphie wailed.  
"Ah."  
"So I went back to my room to find Rinoa in a bad mood because you," Selphie pointed her finger at Squall, "did something simular to her as well. She had set the room up so nice, with candles and such, and you turned her down for _paperwork_, which I see you still haven't done. And it didn't help that you missed dinner with her as well. She spent the night cursing your name, then Seifer's name, saying that somehow it's his fault that you don't want to see her, though I don't know how, since he's only been here for a day now," Selphie finally concluded, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Squall sighed.  
"She's not going to be very happy with me today, is she?"  
"Nope. I suggest that you hide yourself for the day. She's pointing her finger, and you know what happens when she does that."  
Images of a frog jumping out from under Irvine's hat flashed across Squall's mind.  
"Yep, I know exactly what you mean."  
Bored of the conversation, Seifer listened with half an ear, while watching the gathering crows. More people were coming in, and although he wasn't easily seen, word got around and the room filled with the hushed whispering and glances towards their table. Before the war, crowds had never bothered him, but now they made him feel nervous and exposed, though he would never admit to that. Squall glanced at the blonde, noticing the slight change in the blonde. Noting the large crowd, one larger than usual, Squall decided it was time for Seifer to leave.  
"Hey Selphie, I have to go to Balamb now. Can you get the list of names of the SEEDs attending the IGPTA meeting from Quistis and put it with Xu? Oh, and get Quistis to add Seifer's name to it as well, under administration."  
"Yeah... sure Squall, whatever you say," Selphie replied doubtfully as Seifer and Squall stood up to leave.  
"Thanks Selphie. See ya."  
"Yeah, see ya Squall. 

-------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

As soon as he got back, Seifer stumbled into the room, dumped his bags and ran to the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water. The trip to Balamb had been terrible. People staring, whispering, sneering. He near had a panic attack just walking down the road. Squall didn't seem to notice, a good thing for Seifer. He did want to appear weak in front of Squall of all people. It had been worse when they had walked through Garden. Squall had gone to his office, leaving Seifer to walk through Garden on his own for the first time since the war. With Squall gone, people were braver to express their feelings towards the ex knight – from a distance of course. Lapdog, freak, traitor were just some of the names they called out. Everywhere he went, people would stare and whisper. Seifer felt over whelmed, and as soon as he had turned down the hallway to Squall's room, he bolted, quickly punching in Squalls code and stumbled inside, away from the stares, the whispers, the people.  
_'God I'm pathetic,'_ Seifer thought, staring into the mirror as he waited till his heart stopped pounding.  
_'Absolutely pathetic.'_  
Finally composing himself, Seifer left the bathroom, gathered his bags of equipment and placed them away before flinging himself down on the couch.  
_'I want my papa. I want to go home.'_

----------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ ---------------------------

"Squall said to do what?" Rinoa asked Selphie. Irvine, Rinoa, Selphie and Zell were gathered around the fountain during their break. Irvine and Selphie, who had made up over their fight, were cuddling as Zell, bounced around, throwing punches at the thin air.  
"To put Seifer on the list as one of SEED's who'll be helping during the IGPTA meeting."  
"What did Quistis say when you told her?"  
"She just frowned a bit and stuck his name down. I don't think she was happy with it either, but she won't question Squall."  
"I'm not to sure that was a great idea," Irvine drawled.  
"Of course not! This is _Seifer_ we're talking about!" Zell exclaimed angrly. "The bastard will only fuck things up. He most likely has a plan to kill the leaders or something."  
"I'm not too sure about that Zell," Selphie replied. "He seemed, different, more docile than before. In fact, he looked absolutely terrified when the cafeteria filled up with people," Selphie said, smirking at the memory. "If Squall hadn't decided to leave, he would of ended up under the table, sucking his thumb." The four laughed at the image.  
"Yeah, well it sucks how we have to put up with him" Zell muttered, kicking the fountain wall repeatedly.  
"Yeah well, just because we have to watch out for him doesn't mean that we have to do anything with him. Maybe if we just ignore him, he'll learn that he's not wanted here and leave," Rinoa said.  
"Ok then, from now on we'll just ignore Seifer until he gets the message and leaves," Zell stated.  
"Agreed" Selphie said firmly, images of her beloved Garden in ruins, done by the hands of Seifer burning in her mind. The four nodded in unison.  
"Agreed."

----------------------- ------------------------------ ---------------------------------- -----------------------------

Seifer sat at the back of the classroom and concentrated on his work. Although the classroom there were hushed whispers and glances from the students whenever Quistis' back was turned. He had nearly bolted when he first arrived. The students were already inside and waiting when he arrived, and the moment he had stepped into the classroom they had all fallen silent, staring at him. Quistis had introduced him as though he was a new student instead of the ex sorceress knight before started the lesson. No one said anything but he could feel their stares as he walked down the centre aisle to his old seat. Wishing that he was back in Squall's room, he had pulled out his book and set to work, determined not to fail again.  
"Psst."  
Seifer looked up from his work to see the student in front of him staring.  
"What."  
"You really Seifer Almasy, the traitorous sorceress lapdog?"  
"No, I'm the fucken tooth fairy. Piss off."  
More whispers as the students nearby heard his answer.  
_'Come on Quistis, you never let anyone whisper before.'_  
"So why you here? If I was in your shoes I would have been to chicken shit to show my face again."  
"Well fortunately for me, I'm not a coward like you. Now piss off you little shit before I show you why she chose me."  
"Class, that is quite enough noise thank you very much. Quiet now and do your work. John, turn around now and leave the other students alone before I give you rubbish duty."  
"Yes instructor," John replied sullenly, turning around.  
_'Thank you Quistis.'_  
It was the same thing all week, the whispers, the stares. The only class Seifer ever felt comfortable in was Advance Science 3, where there were only three other students, all too preoccupied with their own work to bother Seifer. The labs became Seifer's getaway from the whispers and stares, preferring the isolation of the labs to the hustle and bustle of Garden. It was in the lab where Squall found Seifer, catching up on the extra exercises he had been given earlier that day.  
"So this is where you hide.  
"Yes Squall, you want something?"  
"Quistis told me about the incident in class today."  
"He started it."  
"And you should of let Quistis finish it instead of breaking his nose."  
"He shouldn't of thought me harmless. That's the problem with youth today, they always think that they're the toughest ones around."  
Squall smirked as he sat down next to Seifer.  
"If I recall, you were like that too."  
"Except for one main difference – I WAS the toughest son of a bitch around, and still am, as I just proved today."  
"Heh, whatever."  
"Is that all you came to say?"  
"...No. I also wanted to see how your doing after your first week back as a student. You don't get much shit in class?"  
"Nothing I can't handle."  
"Ah, ok then. Well I guess I better get going then," Squall said, a bit disappointed by the fact.  
"What's the rush? Some important meeting or something?"  
"Na, just paperwork. What are you working on?"  
"Just some exercises for science. I've done it all before but the professor wants to see where I'm at."  
"I remember you helping me with my science homework, back when we were doing home schooling with Edea, when it was just the two of us," Squall said suddenly. "It's strange because I barely remember my past, despite the fact that I've stopped using GF's, but the other's are often remising about the things they use to do. Before I didn't care much about my past, but now... it would be nice to put a past to my name, even if it wasn't the nicest one," Squall said thoughtfully, staring into space.  
"Yeah well, at the moment, I'd give anything to forget my past," Seifer said bitterly. "So you going to be home for dinner tonight?" Seifer said, changing the subject.  
"Na. Rinoa's hooked me in for dinner with her and the guys."  
"Sounds like fun," Seifer replied sarcastically.  
"It has its moments."  
"But you would rather be somewhere nice and quiet where you can unwind, huh?"  
Squall looked over at Seifer.  
"Yeah. Why you here?"  
"To escape. Only a few people can come in here so I get left alone."  
"It will die down soon."  
Seifer snorted. "It never dies down."  
"If you have any problems, you can always come to me, you know."  
"...Thanks Squall."  
"No problems. Look, I have to go now, and next period is about to start so I'll see you around huh?"  
"Yeah see ya Squall."  
Squall turned around to leave.  
"Oh, Squall," Seifer called out, "If you want to hear more about your past, I'm always here ok?"  
Squall smiled.  
"Thanks Seifer."

--------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- -------------------------------------

"So Squall, hows the paperwork been?" Quistis teased as she sat down with her tray.  
"Overloaded, like always."  
"Oh well, just one of the perks of being headmaster."  
"If that's a perk, then I'd hate to see what the bad past is."  
"Why, keeping us in line of course, dear Squall," Irvine called out as he sat down next to Squall.  
"Where's the others," Irvine asked, picking up a bread roll and taking a bite from it.  
"Coming I think."  
"So hows life been treating you Quis? Seifer been giving you any trouble?"  
"Actually, no he hasn't. He's been working hard, though I noticed that he gets hassled by the students a lot. He ended up socking one of the main offenders, John, in the nose today though."  
"Yes, I've talked to him about that," Squall said, taking a bite from his sandwich.  
"You're not talking about Seifer again? How about saying hello to me, Squally poo?"  
Squall winced at his nickname as he smiled up sweetly at Rinoa.  
"Hello Rinoa, Please sit down and share a meal with us."  
"You've got lettuce stuck in your teeth and don't talk to me like that – its scary coming from you. Move over Irvine. Quistis, what have you done to your hair? I know a stylist that's good at fixing hair up and you're not going to eat all that Zell? Your going to end up in the sickbay again..."  
"She doesn't shut up, does she?" Quistis mouthed to Squall.  
Squall shook his head as he removed the offending piece of lettuce.  
"She even talks in her sleep," he mouthed back.  
"Ello Evrbobby" Zell mumbled as he sat down, mouth filled with hotdog.  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to talk with your mouth full Zell?"  
"Way too many times! Hello peoples!" Selphie sang as she plopped herself into the space Irvine had hastily made.  
"Hey Rinoa, have you heard..."  
Squall looked around at the group before him. Everybody had someone, including him, but he never felt more alone.  
_'I'm not the only one alone though.'_  
"Ah, I have to go guys."  
"So soon Squally?" Rinoa pouted as Squall stood up to leave.  
"Yeah, sorry. See ya."  
The other's watched in silence as Squall quickly exited the cafeteria.  
"I wonder what's gotten into him?"  
"Beats me," mumbled Zell through his mouthful, earning a wack across his head from Quistis.  
"Ouch!"

----------------------------------------- --------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

I thought you were eating with the gang?" Seifer greeted Squall.  
"I was, I did, but I finished so I left," Squall said lamely.  
"Oh, well, I've just finished cooking so I'm going to go eat now," Seifer replied, sounding just as lame.  
Squall followed Seifer into the kitchen.  
"So, anymore incidents that I should know of?"  
"Nope, though I nearly punched another, but I held back."  
"Well done."  
"Is that all? Don't I get a gold sticker for good behaviour?" Seifer asked jokily as he dished himself up a plateful of pasta.  
"Sorry, all out of gold stickers at the moment, but I'll find you something later on," Squall teased back, earning a grin from Seifer.  
"What's that?"  
"Its an old family recipe. You want to try some?"  
"Yeah sure."  
Seifer picked up a mouthful on his fork.  
"Open up then."  
Squall obliged and Seifer slid the forkful between Squalls lips, pulling it out slowly.  
"Mmmm," Squall said, closing his eyes, tongue darting out to lick his top lip. Seifer just watched the sensual act put on by an unknowing Squall.  
"Squall."  
Squall opened his eyes to find Seifer standing above him.  
"Seifer..." he murmured as Seifer lent down, placing the plate onto the bench and placed his hand on Squall's neck. Stopping just an inch from Squall, Seifer asked softly  
"Can I kiss you?"  
"Squall gazed into bright green eyes.  
"Yes."  
Squall felt Siefer's lips press against his own, moving softly. Squall's tongue darted out wanting access, needing more as he wrapped his arms around Seifer's neck, threading his fingers through Seifer's hair. Seifer moaned as Squall deepened the kiss, arms moving around Squall's waist, one hand grabbing a fistful of Squall's hair. Squall tasted like sweet honey, and Seifer deepened he kiss, wanting to taste as much of Squall as he could. Squall moulded his body against Seifer's, rubbing against Seifer unconsciously. Moaning softly, Seifer teared his mouth away from Squalls, lips meeting Squalls creamy neck as he kissed, sucked and nipped his way down, earning small moans from the brunette. Squall lent his head back, exposing more of his neck to Seifer's administrations. Moaning softly, Squall pressed harder against Seifer, earning a moan and nip from Seifer.  
"Oh...Seifer,"  
"Hearing Squall moaning his name, Seifer sped up his administrations on Squalls neck, hands sliding up Squalls chest, feeling the muscles rippling beneath his touch.  
"Hyne Seifer... more"  
"Anything you say Squall" Seifer moaned, pressing himself against Squall, rubbing firmly, causing Squall to moan louder.  
"Oh Seifer, that's it, more..."

KNOCK KNOCK

"Squall ,you there?"  
Squall quickly pushed Seifer away as he heard Rinoa call out through the door. The two just stood there, staring at each other, panting hard through swollen lips. Seifer broke the silence first.  
"Squall, I ..."  
"Squall! Open up. I know you're Rinoa," Squall replied breathlessly, trying to get himself under control.  
"Just wait a moment."  
Seifer used the moment when Squall was distracted to run to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Turning on the cold tap, Seifer splashed cold water over his face, staring at himself in the mirror as he tried unsuccessfully to calm his breathing down.  
_'I just kissed Squall... and he kissed me back.'_  
Through the door Seifer could here muffled voices, and then the main door closing. A few minutes later Seifer heard a knock on the door.  
"She's gone."  
Seifer waited until he heard Squall's bedroom door shut before letting himself out.  
_'What the fuck just happened?'_

"Just wait a moment."  
Squall turned around to see Seifer disappearing into the bathroom.  
_'Fuck fuck fuck fuck.'_  
Running across to the main door, Squall took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. When he was breathing normally, he pressed the button, letting in the steaming girl.  
"Squall! Why did you make me wait for so long? Why you so flushed?"  
"No reason, what can I do for you Rinoa?" Squall asked, diverting Rinoa's attention back to her original task.  
"You took off so quickly at dinner tonight I was worried. I went to your office, but you weren't there so I came here. You sure you're ok Squall? Are you feeling sick? It would explain why you look so flushed. Are you coming down with something? I can give you a look over if you want."  
"No, no need Rinoa," Squall said quickly. "I'm fine, nothing a little sleep won't help."  
"...If you say so Squall," Rinoa replied sceptically. "If you feel any worse you go to the sick bay ok?"  
"Ok Rinoa," Squall said, ushering Rinoa out of the door. "Good night Rinoa."  
"Good night Squ..." Rinoa said, cut off by the closing door. "Fine then," She huffed as she turned and stormed away. Walking up to the bathroom door, Squall knocked softly.  
"She's gone."  
And took off into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, flinging himself backwards onto his bed.  
_'Fuck, what just happened?'_

---------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

RINNNG  
"Lo?" Squall mumbled sleepily into the phone as he looked at his alarm clock.  
_'5am? The fucken bastard on the other end better have a good excuse.'  
_"Hi there Squall, Sorry if I woke you," came Laguna's cheerful voice from the other end. Anyone who could be cheerful at 5am in the morning deserved to be shot in Squall's point of view, especially since he hadn't had a good night's sleep since the heated kiss that he had shared with Seifer.  
"What's with the early morning wake up call?"  
"Sorry Squall, but I'm nervous. The first of the delegates are arriving today and I'm wound up so tight that I can't sleep."  
"So you decided that if you can't sleep, the neither can I."  
"I just wanted to go over the details again."  
"Again?"  
"Yes, again."  
Squall could hear Kiros grumbling in the background.  
'Good to see that I'm not the only one dragged up at 5am.'  
"Not again."  
"Shh Kiros."  
"Father, the arrangements are just the same as last night. Relax, it will be fine, now calm down before your leg cramps up."  
"My legs been cramped up all night, which is why I can't sleep," Laguna moaned down the phone. Squall groaned as he laid back onto his pillow.  
"Stop worrying and it will uncramp."  
"But..."  
"No buts. Now listen to Kiros and relax. Its going to be a good day."  
"If you say so Squall. Good bye."  
"Bye father."  
Squall hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling.  
_'Why me?'_

----------------------------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------

ANPart 2 is finished. I'm not to sure if this chapter went ok, I wrote it during my writer's block so it might not have the same tone as the others. Squall's and Seifer's first kiss! Finally! I hope it turned out ok, it's the first time I've written a scene like that. Remember to read and review, and thank you to my reviewers (you know who you are,) for being so patient. I have two more chapters on paper so I will be updating a bit more quickly from now.


	10. Welcome to Earth

Disclaimer: Not Mine, Square-Enix

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

* * *

Chapter 9

Reeve emerged from the ship, blinking against the sunlight. The makeshift port was bustling, people running from place to place, preparing for the sudden intake of arrivals. Reeve felt a movement to his sides, where Vincent and Reno had stepped up to take their place behind their president. Finding their presence comforting against the strangeness, Reeve took a deep breath.  
"You ready sir?"  
Reeve just nodded to the whispered question, not bothering to identify the speaker. Reno probably. Spotting a young man standing just out from the ramp, Reeve stepped forward, once again a man of power and position.

'_I hope these translators work.'_

Seeing the three men approaching, the young man stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"Greetings and welcome to Earth. I am Rubert Goman and I will be your liaison officer for the event."

"I am Reeve Vector of Gaia, President of Neo Shinra, and I thank you for your hospitability."

"You must be tired and thirsty after your long journey. Allow me to direct you to your quarters."

Stepping behind the young man, Reeve could hear hurried footsteps and Reno's angry growl.

'_At least she made it. Otherwise she would have had to help the rest unload.'_

Yuffie ran up and took her place between Reno and Vincent.

"Sorry," She whispered, feeling Reno glaring at her.

"Next time we say move out, we mean move out. Now try not to embarrass Reeve anymore," Reno snapped, glancing around at his surroundings.

Yuffie glanced towards Reno.

'_Something's not right with Reno, but what is it?'_

"You ok Reno? Something bothering you?"

"No, I'm fine. Now stand straight and try to look official."  
"Tsh, fine."  
The young official had led them to a small building decorated with the banners of Shinra. Yuffie gazed around as she followed. The place had been done up splendidly, with soft plush carpets and equally expensive furniture. The main bedroom – Reeve's – was exquisite, designed for a ruler. With two connecting rooms for servants, or in Reeve's case, Reno and Vincent. A smaller room for Yuffie and Amelia, the more advanced recruit, sat across the hallway. A large kitchen was connected to the dinning room, and a large TV had been set up in the living room.

'_Not bad. I could get use to this.'_

"When do we meet the other delegates?" Reeve asked Rubert.

"Tonight there will be a welcoming ceremony, and the introductions will be held then. Until then, you may wonder around the area and enjoy yourselves while the other participants arrive and the work begins. Any questions that you have concerning security or directions etc maybe directed towards the SeeD members walking around. They are easily identified by the black and gold uniforms, who will be happy to help you in anyway. If your security personnel wish, they may talk to the headmaster of Balamb Garden, who is in charge of the security of this event. He has made himself available for all of today and urges all security personnel to come speak with him so that there are no complications concerning security. There is a map by the phone of the complex. Now I must bid you farewell, and I hope that you enjoy your stay here on Earth."

"Thank you Mr Goman," Reeve said as the young man left. He turned around and surveyed the surroundings. Reno had already made use of the couch, visable only by the ends of his feet dangling over the arm. From the far bedroom he could here Yuffie's and Amelia's glees of delight as they explored their room.

'_Nice to see that everyone's made themselves comfy.'_

"Sit back and relax Reeve," Reno said from the depths of the couch. "We have an entire day before your appearance. Go and do something relaxing."

"Like you?"

"Na, I'm just making sure no one's put any pointy objects in the couch. So far I haven't noticed anything but they might have a timer on them or something. Wouldn't want you to miss the opening ceremony course you have to get a pin pulled outa your arse eh pres."

Vincent shook his head from his standing point by the kitchen.

"Sometimes I wonder how exactly you became the leader of the Turks."

"Cause of my charming personality and good looks." Vincent snorted.

"Certainly not for your attitude towards work. You're worse than a bum."

"Fine fine. Vincent, check out the perimeter and what not and I'll go talk to this commander dude."

"Commander dude, how professional."

"Ah shut up and help me get up, I seem to be stuck."

Reeve smirked as he watched the Turk try to pull his commander out of the couch, only to fail. 2 tries later and Reno was freed from his plush jail.

"Right boss, we're off," Reno said, heading towards the door.

"Wait! Can I come to Reno?" Yuffie yelled as she rushed down the hallway..

"Sure, but keep your hands to yourself got it?"

"Tsh sure, got it."

------------------------ -------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------

"So who's this commander dude we have to see?" Yuffie asked, looking around at the sights. There were 14 sections, all with a building much like their own, decorated with the colours of the residents. East of the residential complex was several official buildings. West was a large market set up so that the visiting delegates could experience the tastes, sights and sounds of cultures from Earth and other planets. In the middle of it all was a large semi open stadium,. Where the delegates would meet.

"Well, he's the headmaster actually, but I guess he's taking on the duties of Commander. Squall Leonhart's his name," Reno said, consulting a piece of paper in front of him.

'_I recognise that name, but from where?'_

"Oh! The hero."

"The hero?"

"Yeah, of the Sorceress War. Didn't you read the file Vincent gave you?"

"Not fully. I had other things taking up my time. I was going to sit down and finish it when we got back."

"Well, there was this sorceress that tried to take over Earth by processing over sorceresses. Squall Leonhart and his group managed to defeat her and her knight – another person she took control of – and saved the world."

"Ahh, what were their names?"

"Well, there was Squall Leonhart, Quistis Treppe, Irvine Kineses, Selphie Tilmit, Zell Dinich, and Rinoa Heartily – she's a sorceress. The sorceress who was under control was Edea Kramer who managed to break free and help them. The knight was Seifer Almasy and he was allowed to rejoin SeeD after the war, since he was possessed and didn't have any control. Hey, Almasy, isn't that your last name as well? Trippy."

"Just a coincidence."

_'Seifer Almasy. Sorceress Knight. What part of lay low didn't he understand? Fuck. I hope he's ok. Why didn't he tell me?'_

"Reno. RENO!"

"Oh what? Sorry Yuff, spaced out there."

Yuffie snorted.

"Some Turk you are. I thought you were meant to be observant. You were about to walk right past the commander's office."

Reno walked up and opened the door.

"Bait... I mean, ladies first," he snickered as Yuffie glared at him as she walked past.

"Hello, we're here to see Commander Leonhart about security if he's available."

"Yes, he's just talking to another personnel at this moment. May I take your names and ID code please."

"Sure... Xu," Reno said, reading the name badge attached to the girls' uniform.

"Please take a seat and the Commander will see you shortly."

Reno and Yuffie sat down.

"Boring," Yuffie yawned.

"Well, nobody asked you to come."

"Well, someone had to keep the poor lonely Reno company now that he doesn't have Cloud to cuddle up to anymore." Yuffie smiled sweetly at the glaring redhead.

"Thank you for making the time to come in and see me Mr Strife. Hopefully there won't be any misunderstandings or misfortunes concerning security."

"Thank you Mr Leonhart."

Cloud entered the main room with the commander of SeeD, stopping short as he saw who was waiting there.

_'Reno...'_

Time stood still for the two men as they stared at each other.

"Cloud!" Yuffie yelled as she jumped up and gave him a hug, breaking the tension.

"I see you made it alright Yuffie."

"Course I did! Reno was looking after me. Hows Tifa?"

"She's good. She's resting up at the moment."

"Would she mind a visitor?"

"Of course not. You know what Tifa's like."

"Cool! I'm off with Cloud Reno. Come and get me when you're done here!" Yuffie said, bounding out the door, dragging Cloud behind her.

Reno stared after his ex before turning to the SeeD commander who had been standing passively through the exchange. Reno studied the young man for a moment. Messy chocolate brown hair hung over his face, with plush lips and cool, blue eyes that almost appeared grey, and he had a scar running in a diagonal between them, breaking up his features, but enhancing them at the same time. He wore the SeeD uniform with a few slight differences, and judging by the way he wore it, he didn't wear it much. He stood at around 5ft eight but had an air around him that made up for whatever height he lacked. The toned muscle that showed through the uniform told of a fighter than a paper pusher. Not someone you would want to mess around with, even if you didn't know of his history.

_'A bit young for a commander. I say he's only 19/20 years old. Very pretty though. I'm sure I've seen him before, but where?'_

Mako enhanced eyes met blue grey ones.

"Sorry about that. My name's Reno and I represent Neo Shinra from Gaia."

"Welcome Reno. I'm Squall Leonhart. Come into my office and we'll go over the security procedures."

-------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------

The day past slowly for Squall. From Security personnel's to SeeD to dealing with the soldiers lent by Galbadia and Esthar, Squall had been on his feet all day.

"Fuck, what a day that was."

"And it's only the start."

Squall looked up to see Seifer standing in the doorway in his white trench coat and black and blue attire.

"Where's your uniform?"

"Umm, ah," Seifer's mind flipped back to his shredded uniform, ripped apart by Angelo as he 'played' in the cleaners.

"I couldn't be bothered putting it on. It doesn't really matter though. It's not like I'm on patrolling or anything."

"No, but you are working in the Commander's Office, and someone might see you every once and a while. You should really be dressed in your uniform."

"Ah take that stick out of your arse Squall." Squall sighed.

"What is it that you want Seifer?"

Seifer's gaze fell to the floor.

"I, um, just want to, um, apologise for what happened the other night."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Seifer asked, looking perplexed.

"Why did you kiss me that night?" Squall asked softly.

"I... don't really know. Why did you kiss me back?"

"I... don't know."

Seifer laughed as he walked up to Squall's desk.

"Well, don't we know the mysteries of the universe," he said as he placed his hands on the desk and lent in closer to the sitting brunette. Squall raised his head to meet Seifer's gaze. Seifer's green gaze. Seifer's green _glowing_ gaze. Squall narrowed his eyes.

'His eyes glow like the personnel's from Gaia...' 

"Seifer, I don't suppose you know some one called Reno or Cloud?"

Seifer blinked, straightening up.

"Not from the top of my head no. Why?"

"It's nothing. I require these forms to be filed away. Finish these up and you may leave for the night."

"Sure thing puberty boy."

"Seif..." the door closed as Seifer let himself out. Squall lent back into his chair as he studied the two profiles in front of him.

_'He lied, but why?'_

---------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -----------------------------

Reno walked up slowly to the set of buildings that housed Tifa's group, and more importantly, Cloud.

'It's ok, just go in and get Yuffie and get out, that's all you need to do. Stupid girl, forcing me to come here. Not very subtle is she?'

Stopping at the door, Reno took a deep breath to calm himself, plastered his 'cool as a cucumber' look on and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Cloud's voice called out.

"It's Reno. I've come for Yuffie. Is she still there?" Reno called out, breathe hitching as he heard Cloud's voice.

_'God I miss him...'_

The door opened, revealing Cloud.

"She's inside," Cloud replied, refusing to meet Reno's gaze. He stepped aside to let the redhead enter.

"Cloud I ..."

"I don't want to hear it Reno. Yuffie's in the kitchen talking to Tifa," Cloud replied angrily as he turned away and stalked off. The two females watched the exchange from the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, what happened there?" Tifa whispered to Yuffie.

"They had a big massive fight a while ago and broke up. Cloud never told you?"

"No. What was it about?"

"I don't know. Reno refuses to tell me and I wouldn't dare mention Reno's name to Cloud at the moment. All I know is Reno did something to piss Cloud off real bad and they broke up."

"So Cloud's single now?"

"Yeah, Quick, to the table. Reno's coming."

The two females skirted to the table and sat down in time for Reno's arrival.

"Yuffie, come on," Reno said stormily, not even greeting Tifa.

"Oh, but..."

"Now Yuffie. You can socialise later. You have to get prepared for tonight. Now move it."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Reno, earning a scowl from the redhead as she stood up.

"Tsh fine," she replied as she lent over and gave Tifa a hug. "See ya later Tif. Tell Cid and the rest that I'll see them later on ok?"

"Yeah sure, thanks for coming."

"No problems Tifa. Bye!" Yuffie said as she bounded out of the kitchen. Reno turned towards the brunette.

"Um Tifa."

"Yes Reno?"

"How's Barrett doing?"

"He's still in a coma with no signs of waking up yet. Why?" Tifa asked suspiciously.

"Just curious. Reeve would like to know in any case," Reno replied as he let himself out. When Reno left the complex, Tifa did a little dance of joy.

'Yeah! Clouds mine now!' 

--------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------

Cloud watched as Reno left. Closing his bedroom door he laid across his bed and stared at the ceiling.

_'Fuck.'_

He still hadn't forgiven Reno over the Barrett incident, despite Yuffie's best tries to get them back together.

"_What did he do to make you so mad?"_

_"None of your business."_

_"But Re..."_

"_Yuffie, if you wish to live your remaining life, don't mention his name to me – ever."_

Cloud rolled over onto his side.

'_Maybe I've been a bit hard on him,_' Cloud thought, remembering the look on Reno's face as he turned away.

'_He seems to be sincere... oh I don't know!'_ Cloud punched his pillow a few times, trying to get comfy.

_'Its just so hard to tell with Reno, he could look you in the eye and lie, and get away with it. It all comes down to trust. In the 8 years we were together, did I ever learn to trust him? Should I trust him over this?'_

'_He's never lied to you before, trusted you with secrets he hasn't told his friends who he has known for far longer than you. Why would he start lying to you now?'_

'_To cover his arse.'_

'_And why would he want to cover a delicious arse like that?'_ the traitorous inner voice said. Cloud smiled as images of Reno's arse in tight black pants popped up.

'_Yeah... hey! Damn it! Can't even win an argument against myself.'_

'_So go see him and argue with him instead of your mind.'_

'_Ah shut up.'_

Knock knock.

"Come in."

Tifa slowly opened the door.

"Hey Cloud, you ok?" Cloud frowned.

"Yeah..."

"It's just that I heard that you and Reno broke up and with him coming here and all..."

Cloud smiled up at the brunette.

"I'm fine, really. You getting ready for tonight?"

"Just going to. I'm feeling quite nervous though."

"Don't worry. It's going to be good."

"Ah Cloud."

"Yes Tifa?"

"I was wondering if you would be my escort for tonight – as friends of course."

"Yeah sure."

Tifa beamed.

"Thanks Cloud, you're the greatest," and she quickly gave a peek on Cloud's cheek.

"I'll go get ready now then," she said before leaving the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Cloud standing in the middle of the room, hand pressed against his cheek.

------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------

"Welcome one and all to the Intergalactic Planetary Trading Association..."

Seifer watched from his hiding spot up in the rafters of the Stadium.

_'Just because I can't be seen doesn't mean that I can't watch.'_

The event had proceeded with out a hitch, with all the delegates arriving smoothly. The announcer droned on, introducing the delegates but Seifer tuned them out, only interested in the delegates from Gaia. Pulling his trench coat around him, Seifer watched from his vantage point, wind blowing softly around him.

"And from Gaia, the President of Neo Shinra Reeve Vector."

Seifer sat forward and watched as the older man stepped forward. He had aged over the years, but he still managed to keep his innocent boy look. Seifer use to love making him laugh, just so that he could see his eyes light up. To Seifer, it was strange to see a man's eyes display so much emotion in front of everyone. Walking up behind him was the Turk, Vincent Valentine, from before his time, whose long hair blew softly in the breeze and the metal arm gleamed under the lights.

_'Have some problems with him if he doesn't side with Reno.'_

Seifer's eyes settled on he redhead beside him.

_'Reno...'_

Seifer blinked furiously before wiping his eyes with his sleeve. It wasn't until he saw his foster father when he realised how much he missed him. He hadn't changed that much, thanks to Mako. Someone had pulled his hair into a nice ponytail tied at his nape, flowing down to just below his waist. His hair was tamer than before, but a few strands had rebelled against the gel and hung down around his face, free from the glasses that held them in place. Seifer finally moved on to the girl in between the Two Turks, Contrast to the males, her hair was short, cut above her shoulders, and she wore a uniform simular to the Turks, though Seifer doubted that she was part of the Turks.

'_What was her name? Ah yes, Yuffie from Avalanche,' _Seifer thought, frowning as he tried to recall information on her.

_'Wuitian, about 26 years of age, ninja, joined Avalanche at 16, threat rate – small.'_

Reeve finished his welcoming speech and made his way to his area.

_'I wonder where Cloud is...'_

"And the President of Jouissance, Tifa Lockhart."

Seifer focused on the group that could cost him his new life – Avalanche. Most of the members were there, Tifa Lockhart, Cid Highwind, The cat like creature Nanaki (which caused some of the crowd, including SeeD to gasp as he greeted the presenter,) and Cloud, his foster father's supposed boyfriend.

_'I wonder why he's not with Reno. He hasn't changed a bit either. I'm glad for that.'_

Seifer scanned the group again.

'_Hn, that's funny. Barrett's not there. I wonder what happened to him?_' Seifer sighed.

_'If he's not here, then that's one less threat to me.'_

Seifer fidgeted as he made himself comfortable for the following hours of the welcoming gala, soaking in the visions of old friends and old enemies.

* * *

AN: Once again, I went overboard with my chapters. I'm not to sure I like the way that I caught Cloud in his 'thinking mode', but might just be me. Remember to read and review, I like to hear how people respond to my fics, even if its helpful criticism. 


	11. Questions and Makeups

Disclaimer: Not Mine, Square-Enix

Warning: This fic contains **Yaoi**, which means **guy-on-guy** action, **drug use, swearing** and descriptive scenes (mainly containing blood and guts) that might disturb some people. Do not read if you don't like. Flamers will be used to roast marshmallows on. Not suitable for kiddies.

AN: This chapter contains a **Lime**, so just be warned. Also, so i don't confuse you, I've changed Vincent (child) to Vince so he doesn't get mixed up with Vincent. When i first started this story Vincent wasn't going to get a big part, but it turned out differently, leaving me with a bit of a mess, so I just shortened child Vincent's name. I hope this doesn't confuse anyone too much. Gomen.

* * *

Chapter 10

"Where were you last night Seifer?"

Seifer fidgeted with his SeeD uniform.

"Um, at the ceremony."

Squall's eyes narrowed.

"I thought your orders was to stay away from the events. If Galb saw you, it will bring the place down."

"Don't worry Squall, I don't want to be seen anymore than you do," Seifer said, sitting down on Squall's desk. Squall frowned at Seifer.

"Remove yourself from my desk cadet Almasy."

Seifer tilted his head as if contemplating his answer.

"Mmm, no."

"Seifer."

Seifer smirked at Squall.

"Make me."

Squall made a move towards Seifer but changed his mind, sitting back down with all intents on ignoring the blonde.

"You want something?"

"Yeah, I do actually."

"And what's that?"

Squall had barely finished his sentence before finding his lips captured by Seifer. Squall moaned as Seifer tenderly moved his lips against his own. Taking that as approval, Seifer deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue in and tasting the brunette. This time it was Seifer who moaned as Squall responded, tongues dancing to an unknown tune as they fought for dominance. Reluctantly Squall pulled away, breaking the kiss.

"Seifer I ..."

"I know. You've got a girlfriend, this is not acceptable rady rady ra."

Squall shook his head.

"It's not that, it's just that ... I'm confused. I should be acting that way, but..." Squall said softly, staring down at the desk. Seifer lent over and placed his finger under Squall's chin, raising it so that he met Squall's gaze.

"Squall, I understand if you're unsure of yourself. I'm not quite sure myself, but I'm willing to try if you are. I'm not going to force anything onto you. If you want to forget the whole thing then we can do that, but if you want to see where this could take us, then all you have to do is say so," Seifer said, planting a chaste kiss on Squall's lips.

_Knock. Knock._

Both men glanced at the door. Seifer slid of the desk while Squall straightened his uniform, distracted by what Seifer had just said.

"Remember Seifer, stay out of sight," Squall called out to the retreating blonde.

"Yes Sir."

Seifer opened the door, almost bumping into Rinoa. Glaring at the blonde, Rinoa pushed past, slamming the door behind her.

"I waited."

"Sorry Rinoa. I had to talk to Seifer. What is it that I can do for you?"

"I just dropped by to see how you've been," Rinoa said, claiming Squall's mouth with her own. After Seifer's sweet kiss Rinoa's tasted stale and old. Squall pulled away.

"I'm fine, just really busy at the moment."

Rinoa pouted.

"You're _always_ busy Squall. You never have time for me anymore."

"Yeah well, I am the headmaster of Balamb Garden. The place relies on me to keep it running 24/7. It's not a 9-5 job Rinoa, and it will take up a lot of my time," Squall said patiently, returning to his files.

"What are you doing Squall?"

"Just looking up something."

"Oh."

"Rinoa, with Seifer ... did you ever notice anything... strange about him?"

Rinoa frowned.

"His eyes. They always seemed to have a glow to them. It was what attracted me to him, but what made me fear him as well. They were just so strange, unnatural looking, but at the same time beautiful. Why do you ask?"

"Was there anything else?"

"No, not really. He was fast, faster than the other boys, and had good reflexes, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Why all these questions about Seifer for?"

"It's ... nothing Rinoa. How about we go for dinner tonight." Squall asked, diverting Rinoa's attention.

"Sorry Squally poo, but Selphie and I have already organised a girl's night in."

"Ok then. I'll see you later then."

"Ok sweetie," Rinoa said, leaning in and giving Squall a peek on the cheek.

"Bye Squally poo."

"Bye Rinoa."

Squall watched the young girl leave before returning his attention to the file in front of him, labelled _"Mako_."

----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------

Tifa glanced up across the table at Cloud. Since Reno had came and picked up Yuffie, Cloud had been silent and withdrawn, even during the welcoming ceremony. Tifa, who was now sick of Cloud's moping, decided that it was time to put her plan into action.

"Cloud hon, you ok?"

Cloud glanced across to his childhood friend.

"Yeah, I guess."

Tifa pouted.

"No you're not, you've had the same moody look on your face since yesterday."

Cloud gave a tiny smile.

"Yeah, I guess I haven't been in the happiest mood lately."

"So we've noticed," Tifa replied dryly. "How about we go on a picnic, just you and I."

"A picnic?"

"Yeah, a picnic. Picnics use to make me happy all the time. The fresh air, green grass and the company of those I care for always made me smile," Tifa replied, smiling at the memories of picnics from her childhood.

"Are we allowed to leave the premises?"

"Yeah, just as long as we stay in the boundary set out in the surrounding area."

Cloud pondered on the idea.

"Yeah sure. I guess it won't hurt."

"Of course not!" Tifa said gleefully. "Now go find a blanket to sit on and I'll go pack the picnic basket."

------------------------------ ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------

Tifa raised her glass to her lips. She couldn't of asked for a better day. The sun was out; gently warming the brunette while a soft breeze blew past. She had chosen a secluded spot with a beautiful view of a small lagoon, complete with a small waterfall, adding to the peace and tranquillity of the place. Pulling out a bottle of wine and their lunch, the two had sat and talked for two hours straight. Tifa couldn't remember the last time the two had taken the time to just sit down and talk.

_'You could of before, but you let your jealousy of Reno get in the way of your friendship.'_

'_Shut up. Don't ruin the day by mentioning his name,_' she told her inner voice.

"Tifa. Tifa." Tifa looked up with a start.

"Oh, sorry Cloud. I spaced out for a bit there."

"I was just asking if you've heard about Barret yet?"

"Yeah. There's been no change," Tifa said, her good mood dampening at the mention of Barret.

"Marlene's staying with Shera, and they go and see Barret regularly." Tifa looked across to Cloud, who was gazing into the distance, a frown marring the perfect features on his face.

"You ok Cloud?" Tifa asked gently, placing her hand on top of Clouds. Jumping slightly at the sudden contact, Cloud gazed uncertainly at the brunette. With hesitating, Tifa lent in a kissed Cloud on the lips and pulled back, gaze locked with Clouds.

"Tifa I ..."

"Shh."

Tifa lent in for another kiss, but Cloud pulled back sadly.

"I'm sorry Tifa. I like you as a friend, but..."

"Not as a lover," Tifa replied bitterly, wrapping her arms around her legs and staring stonily ahead of her.

"You prefer a murdering Turk."

Cloud's face darkened.

"You call him a murderer, but yet neither you or Barret are innocent of that charge. Your bombs took out more than just reactors Tifa. At least Reno was just following orders. You chose freely to set those bombs," Cloud retorted angrily, storming away from the shocked female.

"Cloud, wait!" Tifa called out. But it was too later and she was alone again.

'_Way to go Tifa,'_ She thought as tears streamed down her face.

'_Way to go.'_

------------------------------ -------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

Cloud stormed back to the main area, sending people running with his cold gaze.

'_I am so sick of the way they talk about him like that, Sure they're entitled to their own opinions, but don't they realise how much it hurts to hear them talk about him like that. I love him.'_ Cloud finally admitted. _'I love him, despite his faults, his mistakes. I hope its not too late to tell him that I'm sorry.'_

Cloud started jogging towards the Neo Shinra Complex.

--------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- ----------------------

Reno sat back and relaxed, enjoying the peace and quiet. Vincent and Reeve were out visiting other ambassadors, making friends and deals, while Yuffie and Amelia were out enjoying the sights and sounds of Earth, leaving Reno to enjoy his time alone.

_Knock. Knock._

Reno stared at the door with a frown.

_'Who dares disturb my peace?'_

Get up off the couch, Reno pulled the door open, ready to let it fly at the intruder, but stopped short as the blonde man flew forward, lips landing on Reno's.

"Cloud..."

Wrapping his arms around the blonde, Reno pulled the man inside, slamming the door behind him, lips still sealed with Clouds. Reno felt himself responding to the kiss as it built up its frantic pace. Cloud pulled away from the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Reno's neck and pressed his forehead against Reno's.

"I'm sorry Reno," Cloud finally said, placing a short kiss on Reno's lips.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you, for not listening."

Reno returned the kiss, hands roaming up Clouds back as he hungrily kissed the blonde, taking in his sweet taste as his slid his tongue into the willing blondes mouth.

"I'm sorry Cloud, for what happened. It was an accident, really," Reno replied, tearing his mouth away from the blonde's.

"I know." Cloud replied as he tore away Reno's shirt, ripping the buttons off as he threw it across the room. Reno led the blonde towards his room, arms still locked around Cloud's waist as he lent down and kissed the blonde's neck, electing a moan form the blonde. Throwing Cloud onto the bed, Reno laid on top of him, pressing up against the blonde, capturing his mouth once more. Cloud's hand travelled down Reno's bare back before stopping on Reno's arse as he pressed upward, rubbing against Reno, electing a moan from the panting redhead.

"Cloud" Reno moaned hoarsely as he removed his mouth from Cloud and made his way down Clouds neck, sucking and nibbling as he worked on the buttons of Cloud's top. Removing the offending garment, Reno laid open kisses down Clouds chest, paying special attention to Cloud's nipples, licking and biting softly until they were tight buds.

"Reno" Cloud murmured incoherently as he gently pushed on Reno's shoulder. Reno smirked as he understood Cloud's message. Travelling down further, Reno stopped to lick at the blonde's belly button while his hand made quick work on Clouds pants.

"Oh yes Reno!" Cloud called out as Reno's hand met his target, followed by his mouth. Cloud buckled under Reno's administration as Reno licked and sucked at his hard length.

"Reno, oh Reno ... RENO!" he panted, hand tightening in Reno's hair. Reno raised his head to gaze into Cloud's lust filled eyes.

"Not yet honey," he said, smirking as he slid up Clouds body to kiss him, rubbing his jean cladded hard on against Clouds.

"Oh god Reno!" Cloud murmured into Reno's mouth as his hands slid downwards. Unbuckling Reno's jeans, Cloud slid his hand down, electing a moan from Reno as his fingers brushed against Reno's length, teasing with feathered touches before wrapping his hand around firmly.

"Oh Cloud, Its been too long," Reno moaned into clouds ear as he thrusted into Clouds hand.

"Too long," Cloud agreed as he removed Reno's jeans, leaving the both naked. Reno nudged himself against Cloud.

"I love you Cloud," Reno murmured as he thrusted into his lover.

"I love you too Reno."

---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- -------------------------

Reno watched as his lover slept.

_'Fuck he's so beautiful,'_ he thought, gently brushing Cloud's hair from his face. Cloud stirred.

"Hmm, Reno?"

"Morning hon,"

"Morning?" Cloud sat up.

"It can't be morning already. Dinner has to happen first."

Reno laughed.

"I can see what's thinking at the moment," he replied, pulling Cloud into a hug.

"You slept through dinner and I didn't want to disturb you. Besides, it was nice to have you next to me again," Reno murmured into Cloud's ear.

"It's nice to wake up to you too," Cloud murmured back, kissing Reno on the lips. Pulling back, Cloud saw a file on Reno's lap.

"Hey, what's that?"

"A problem."

"Huh?"

Reno sighed.

"Vince is here, and he's working as a SeeD during this meeting."

"Shit."

"You got that right. I haven't seen him around yet, so he's most likely staying out of sight, but it's too close for my comfort," Reno said, frowning at the file.

"That's not all, is it Re," Cloud asked, noting Reno's mood.

"Take a look," Reno replied, handing the file to Cloud. Cloud opened the file to see a young version of Rufus Shinra staring up from the photo, green eyes seemly mocking the reader.

"It seems Vince, or Seifer as he goes by here, got himself mixed up with a sorceress who tried to take over the world. He was released from the charges due to mind control, but he isn't the most favourite person in the world. He's been let back into Garden, and is now residing under the care of Squall Leonhart."

"The headmaster."

"Yep. So not only does he have Avalanche to worry about, but the rest of Earth as well."

"Takes after his father alright," Cloud said, wishing he could retract his statement as he watched Reno's face darken.

"Sorry Re."

Reno shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. It's true at any rate, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Well if he stays behind the scenes, he might be ok then."

"I thought so too, but Leonhart's been digging up files on the two of us and Mako. Things are looking to be getting a bit messy over here for him."

Cloud threw himself backwards.

"Fuck. So what's our plan of action?"

Reno smiled at Cloud's choice of words.

"Talk to Vince I guess. See what's happening at his end."

Reno pulled Cloud up for a kiss. "Oh, and by the way,"

"Hm Reno"

"Lets not fight like that again."

Cloud smiled. "Deal," And pulled Reno into a longer, more heated kiss.

Knock. Knock.

"Yo, love birds. You getting up anytime soon? Breakfast is on the table," Yuffie called out. Cloud frowned in confusion.

"How..."

"You might of slept through dinner, but I didn't," Reno chuckled. "Yuffie got a very nice eyeful of you when she came to wake me up," Reno said, laughing at Cloud's reddening face.

"Don't worry, she didn't see too much. Now lets get something to eat and then track down our young charge."

-------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------

AN: This is a pretty short chapter compared to some of the others, but it was originally part of the last chapter. I wrote my first lime, so I'm not too sure how it went. For those expecting a lemon, I'm sorry, but I'm working myself up to that. Remember to read and review, I love to hear want my readers liked, or could see improved or whatever.


	12. Pasts

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: Sorry about the long update. I've just reposted this chapter cuz it went all funny and didn't seem to load properly. Hopefully its all fixed.I fixed a couple of mistakes too - i really have to work on my spelling!

If anyone wants to become a beta reader for me (even if its just for a certain fic or whatever,) just send me an email.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"Hey Tifa, how is it going over there?" Shera's smiling face stared up at Tifa from the vid screen. Tifa smiled back.

"It's going good. I think I might have made a few good deals already, but nothing set in stone."

"Excellent! And how has everyone been?"

"Good, good. Yuffie's brought about half of Earth already and Nanaki's not to far off, surprisingly. Who would of thought that he was into key rings?" Laughter rang out from the screen.

"Cid's been having a ball," Tifa continued, "running around the space port, chatting with the mechanics and such. He's even managed to convince one to let him have a look around in one of the ships. Needless to say, all that's been coming out of his mouth lately is mechanical talk."

"I understand completely. At least it's a change from 'WHERE THE HELL'S MY DAMN TEA WOMAN!'"

Tifa laughed. "True."

"I'm glad you called actually Tifa."

Tifa lent back into her chair puzzled.

"Why? Barrett! Is he ok?"

Shera laughed.

"Relax Tifa, he's fine. Better than fine actually."

Tifa stared at Shera's beaming face.

"You mean…"

"Yep! He woke up about a week ago my time. The doctors said that it was a close call, but if he continues to improve at his rate, then he'll be back on his feet in no time."

Tifa beamed back.

"That's great news! No sign of any permanent damage?"

"None that the doctors can tell."

"And has he said anything about the attack?"

"Well… no. He refuses point blank to say a thing, saying that it's his business and nobody else's."

Tifa sighed.

Typical bloody male. Do they have an estimate time for when he can leave?"

"Another week or two."

"That soon!"

"Yeah well, he's not giving them much choice. He's determined to join you at the meeting."

"Well, if he's got his mind set on something, not even ruby weapon will stop him."

"True."

"So hows my VP going?"

"Great. She's very capable. Everything is running smoothly and profits are going up."

"That's excellent. Well, I better let you go then."

"See ya Tif. Give everyone my love."

"Will do. Bye now!"

Tifa reached over and turned off the vid screen, smirking at her reflection on the darkened screen.

'_Won't everyone be surprised!'_

------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- -----------------

"Are we going to sit here all day?"

"If need be."

"In the hot sun?"

"Yep."

"Tomorrow too?"

"If need be."

"Did you bring any food?"

"Nope."

"Drink?"

"Nope."

"Playgirl mag?"  
"No… Reno!"

Cloud glared at the redhead, who smiled back.

"So, why wait outside the commander's office? It would be much easier to just go up and ask him," Reno grumbled as he lent back onto the wall, staring towards the building in question.

"We don't want to draw attention to Vince. We've never met him remember? It would be suspicious if we just walked in there and asked for him."

Reno snorted and kicked at the ground.

"He's my little boy, I shouldn't have to sneak around just so I can talk to him. Besides, this Squall kid is already on his way to finding out."

Cloud smiled.

"I know you're impatient to see Vince again, so am I. But your letting it cloud your instincts. The fact that he's digging around means that Vince hasn't told him, and he doesn't want Vince to know he's on to him. The reason for his interest is unknown to us so its best if we just lay low and remain inconspicuous."

"Oh yeah, and staking out the commander's office in broad daylight is inconspicuous?"

"Got any better ideas Einstein?"

Reno sighed and slid down to the ground, fanning himself with a loose bit of paper he had picked up some where along the line.

"No and I know all that too."

Cloud slid down to join him on the ground, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

"Don't worry. We'll see Vince soon enough. This is the only place where he could work without being seen, and if he's not here, then we could trail this Squall kid back to his place. That's where Vince is meant to be staying."

"I guess your right."

"Of course I am."

"But to forget the playgirl mags…"

"Reno!…"

-------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------- --------------

"I've brought the booze!"

Irvine opened the door to let the bubbly brunette in, grabbing the bags of liquor as she rushed by, placing them on the table.

"So, is everyone here yet?"

"Not quite, Squall's not here yet, but everyone else is waiting in the lounge trying to figure out what you called them all here for."

Selphie placed her hand on her hip as she poured a packet of chips into a large bowl.

"Squall better hurry up and the booze and food should enlighten everyone."

Irvine smiled as he grabbed a handful of chips, earning a light tap on his hand.

"Squall might not happy being disturbed from his work just for this."

"Oh tsh, he needs the relaxation. He's been so busy this past week with this intergalactic meeting thingee-ma-bob. We haven't gotten together as a group for a while and just hung out so I decided that tonight's the night for a party!"

"I know it had to be Selphie's idea, though I don't know why it was at Irvine's."

"My cupboard was fuller."

"Squall! You made it!"

Selphie squealed and flew into Squall, giving him a large hug.

"I'm so glad you came, and by yourself too," She added in, glancing behind Squall for a blonde head.

"Riona's already here," Squall intoned blandly.

Selphie plastered a bright smile onto her face.

"Of course she is, silly me. Come on, let's get the party started!" Selphie said, pulling the helpless gunblader into the lounge, placing him between Riona and Zell, before standing on top of the small coffee table in the middle of the circle.

"Ok peoples, tonight the plan is for us to get extremely pissed, or as pissed as 6 people can get on 5 cartoons of cruisers, 2 bottles of champagne and Irvy's stock of beer, eat lots of junk food and have a merry old time together, ok everyone?"

"Yes darling, now can you please hop off the table so I can put the food down," Irvine said, smiling as Selphie jumped down and sat next to Quistis. Squall smirked as he grabbed a random bottle from the table.

'_Its been a while since we've done this. I wonder how Seifer…'_

Squall shook his head.

_'No, I'm not going to think about him. Its just so confusing, these feelings I'm having, and his past…'_

Squall frowned as he took a sip from his bottle.

_'His past… I've come to a dead end with that, but I'm certain there's a connection between Seifer and those two guys, Reno and Cloud, but what is it?'_

"Yo, Earth to Squall. What's with the frown?"

Squall focused his gaze onto the sniper.

"Hey Irvine."

"Yeah Squall?"

"Could you tell us about our past, back in the orphanage?"

Irvine glanced at Squall.

"What's with the sudden interest Squall? You've never wanted to know before."

Squall just shrugged.

"Come on Irvy! Tell us something!"

"Okay, where to start…"

"Oh, who was the funniest kid out of us all?"

"That would be Zell – when he wasn't crying of course."

The group burst out with laughter at the look on Zell's face.

"The things he use to come out with were hilarious at times. And what made it even funnier was that he didn't realise why everyone was laughing," Irvine continued.

"Selphie was the happy bubbly one, always ready to give someone a hug if they felt down. Usually worked too, except on Squall or Seifer. Neither of them were the touchy type, though it didn't stop her from trying to cuddle them. Quistis was the responsible one, always there to keep us in line, though being responsible didn't stop her from helping Seifer sneak some fireworks one night."

"Snapped Quisty!" Selphie giggled. "Who was the strangest one Irvy?"

"That's easy, Zell of course!" Quistis replied smiling.

"Hey!"

"Actually," Irvine interrupted, "It was Seifer who was the strangest one. Even his arrival was pretty strange now that I think about it."

"How so?" Squall questioned, not looking up from his bottle.

"Well," Irvine lent forward, slipping into storytelling mode, "Seifer was the last of us to arrive, about two years after Zell arrived and a year after Ellone left. He wasn't brought in by a social worker, like the rest of us were. He arrived one night, and before you ask Selphie, yes, it was dark and stormy too. Zell and Selphie couldn't sleep because of the storm, so we were all up playing a game of pick up sticks, except for Squall who was watching the storm." Irvine paused, pleased at gaining everyone's undivided attention.

"It was all quiet in the house, save for the sound of thunder when BANG! A loud knock was heard, sending Zell under the covers and causing the rest of us to jump. Realising that it was someone knocking on the door and not some monster trying to come in and eat us all, we crept out to the top of the stairwell to see who would be out at this time of the night. Even Squall dragged himself from the window to see who was there. Our first guess was that Cid had returned, but the masculine voice didn't belong to him. I don't remember what was being said, as it was quite muffled, but I remember hearing a younger voice speaking out to the man, and neither of them sounded very happy." Irvine paused to take a sip from his beer.

"Matron didn't sound to thrilled either, but she must of agreed in the end, because the door shut quietly, and matron led in a young boy, around about eight years old, dark clothes dripping and blonde hair plastered to his face from the rain. Despite his ragged appearance, the first thing that came to mind was danger, but it wasn't until Matron called us down to meet him, and I looked into his eyes that I feared him. They were so cold and hard, devoid of all emotion. He was different from us, we all knew immediately. His manner, attitude, even his speech was funny, very formal with an odd accent. It makes you wonder what he life was like beforehand, that he would be so cold. None of us really got on well with him, except for maybe Squall. He was just too weird. He had this nasty habit of looking down on us as though we were just mere ants there to do his bidding, and he just seemed too grown up. He didn't even know what Lego was. I guess he saw that he wasn't fitting in well, so he started acting more childish, but he still seemed… wrong. It was his eyes I guess. Freaky eyes. Too old, too bright, too cold. It didn't really bother him though; he preferred to be alone, which is probably why he and Squall got on good. He was a strange one alright."

"Oh tsh, who cares what Seifer was like. What was Squally poo like?" Rinoa spoke up from the couch, words slightly slurred. Squall just sighed and shook his head as he took another gulp from his drink.

_'Woh, how many have I had?'_

"Well, he wasn't as piggy with the drinks as he is now," scolded Irvine lightly as he gazed at the numerous bottles of cruisers floating around the brunette.

"Oh Squall! Now I have to drink the beer!"

Squall cracked a smile at the look on Rinoa's face.

"Ssorry."

Irvine grinned._ 'He's pissed…'_

"Squall was always a quiet child, even when Ellone was there. When she left, he became more withdrawn. Only when Seifer arrived did he become a bit more animated, having mock sword fights with the blonde and stuff. He loved to sit and watch the storms that happened often, staring out at the wild sea and watching the lightning dart across the sky. He didn't seem to like hanging around with us for too long – to noisy I guess, but he didn't mind Seifer's company. He didn't seem to be bothered by Seifer as we all were. Hey, did you two ever get adopted out?"

Squall pondered on this as he raised his bottle to his lips.

"I'mm not too shure. I don't fink we did. I only 'member being at Garrden."

Standing up and stretching, Squall placed the empty bottle on the table.

"I'mm going now."

"Oh, but Squall, I'm not ready to go yet."

Squall looked down at the pleading girl on his arm.

"Then stay. I was heading back too my room anyway."

Rinoa huffed as she slid back down into her seat, grabbing a bottle of beer and unceremoniously chugging it down.

"Fine. See you whenever Squall."

"Whatever," came his reply as he shut the door behind him. The gang exchanged worried looks at the exchange between the couple.

"Okay, anyone up for truth or dare?" Irvine finally said, breaking the tension that Squall's departure left. Nodding in agreement, the rest made themselves comfy for a long night of socialising.

------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- ----------------

Squall swayed over to his quarters, glad that nobody else was around to she him in this state.

_'Man, I really can't hold my drink. I only had about 7 cruisers, or maybe 8…'_

Leaning against the wall, Squall fumbled around with the keys, trying to input his code without much luck when the door slid open and Seifer stepped outside. Upon seeing Squall's drunken state, he smirked as he lent on the doorframe, mirroring Squall.

"Had fun sweetie? Did they all play nice?"

"Ah shut up Seifer, I'mm too pissed too deal with your smart arse comments," Squall replied as he stepped through the doorway, Seifer following close behind. Flopping himself down on the couch, Squall let out a groan as he kicked his boats of and removed his jacket.

"Wasn't that much fun huh? Its only 10pm and you're back," Seifer asked, sitting down at the other end of the couch. Squall sighed.

"It was ok for a while. Irvine told us a bit about our pasts back in the orphanage, but it grew boring once the cruisers ran out."

"Courtesy of you by the looks of it," Seifer replied as he half-laid across the couch, splaying his legs across Squalls.

"Hey Seifer, leave me some room eh?"

Seifer just smirked and stretched his legs out, forcing Squall to sit up.

"Make me."

Squall glanced across at the blonde, a small smirk growing on his face.

"And how should I go about doing that?" he murmured, fingers slowly running along Seifer's leg, resting on his inner thigh as he moved so that he was laying on his side next to Seifer.

"Hmm?" Squall questioned as he lightly ran his fingers up and down Seifer's inner thigh, causing Seifer's breath to hitch at the light feeling.

"Squall…" Seifer mumbled, gazing up questionly at Squall. Squall just smirked.

"I guess it really depends on how I want you to move doesn't it?" He said, smiling as he suddenly cupped Seifer though his pants and rubbed firmly, causing Seifer to arch into his hand, moaning loudly. Squall smiled as he lightly ran his tongue up along Seifer's neck, stopping to gentle suck on Seifer's earlobe.

"Enjoyed that?"

Seifer just nodded wordlessly as Squall returned to his administrations on Seifer's neck and he straddled to blonde. Capturing Seifer's lips in a heated kiss, Squall grinded their hips together, causing both men to moan. Seifer's hand wrapped around Squall's waist as he thrusted against Squall, speeding up the pace as both men groaned into their kiss. Seifer finally broke their kiss as he pulled away to look at Squall. The brunette had his eyes shut tight as he grinded against Seifer, head thrown back as he moaned loudly. Seifer swallowed back a groan.

"Squall, Squall." He repeated louder.

"Mmm Seifer," Squall replied breathlessly as he lent down to kiss Seifer's neck, sucking gently. Seifer moaned as he moved so that more of his neck was exposed to Squall's soft lips.

"Squall, hang on a moment."

Squall paused as he sat up to look at Seifer.

"What is it Seifer?"

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you've had a bit too much to drink tonight and I don't want you … hey Squall, where you going?" Seifer exclaimed as a blushing Squall quickly stood up, nearly crashing into the coffee table in his haste.

"I'm, I'm sorry Seifer, I…"

Squall blushed harder as he ran in the direction of his room, leaving a dazed Seifer laying on the couch. Sighing, Seifer flopped an arm across his face as he tried to ignore the hardness in his pants.

_'Fuck, what just happened then?'_

------------------------------- ------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

AN: A bit more Squall/Seifer action in this one ;). I know I've probably changed a bit of their pasts, with Ellone leaving before Seifer and all that, but because Ellone left when he was quite young, and Squall is about 7 when Seifer arrived, I changed it a bit.


	13. Plans

Disclaimer: If i owned FVII or VIII, i wouldn't be writing this ;) This fic contains yaoi, violence and swearing. Not suitable to little kiddies (do i have to keep writing this?)

AN: Look! An update! Sorry its been a while. I finally got my computer fixed and then I had to go and pack my journals away. Took me forever to find them, but find them i did and i am now able to update my fics again.

A special thanks goes to my reviewers (and lurkers) who have been waiting patiently for me to update. Your reviews is what keeps me writting, even though its 2 in the morning and i have to work in the morning :)

Chapter 11

* * *

Barrett narrowed his eyes at the quivering nurse before him. 

"I'm signing out."

"But, but sir, you're not…"

"NOW!"

The young nurse cringed as she raced to find the necessary paperwork. Normally he wouldn't of been so hard on the young thing, she looked barely old enough to of finished school and it was likely to be her first nursing job but at that time he was to pissed off to take pity on the poor girl. Reno. Cloud's little bitch. Barrett's fist clenched up as the smirking face of the red head Turk appeared, taunting him as it had done since he had woken up in the hospital, haunting his dreams as he laughed at the fallen man, night stick raining down with hard, uncaring thuds on the back of his head.

_'That little faggot will pay, along with all that he cares for. He'll be screaming for mercy when I'm through with him.'_

Rage burnt brightly in his eyes as he signed the release papers, slamming them onto the reception desk and sending the nurse scrambling for the scattered papers. Storming out of the hospital, Barrett flagged down a taxi as he dialled the number to his office.

"Hel…"

"Book me a flight to Earth asap."

"Ah, ok sir… how are you…."

Barrett hung up mid-sentence and hopped into the taxi. Giving the directions to Cloud's house, Barrett lent back in his seat and closed his eyes.

_'That little bitch will pay.'_

_

* * *

_

"Hey Reno, Cloud, where you going?" Both men sighed as Yuffie ran up and swung from their shoulders, smiling up at them.

"Nothing. What do you want?" Reno drawled as they picked their way through the crowd, narrowly avoiding a young kid playing chase with his older brothers, laughter ringing out as he dodged the reaching hands and crawled under a stall, causing his mother to shout and wave her soup ladle at the older boys. Yuffie glared and poked her tongue out at the red head.

"Don't be so rude. I just wanted to see what's so interesting about the commander's office that you two feel the need to stare at it all day." Yuffie paused and widen her eyes in humor.

"Spotted some nice young flesh you'd like to try? That Squall dude was hot if you're looking for some bedtime entertainment…"

"Yuffie! Enough! It's nothing like that at all!" Cloud exclaimed, blushing brightly as he scanned the crowds in case someone had overheard. Yuffie snickered.

"I know that. I was just having you on silly. Reno would be too jealous to share you with anyone."

"Damn right!" Reno agreed, smiling as he wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulder, pulling the blonde in and nearly tripping him up in the process. " But if you're interested…"

"Reno! Yuffie!" Cloud pouted as the two laughed loudly, earning a glare from a passing delegate, muttering about rowdy personal and how unprofessional people were these days. Yuffie poked her tongue out at the balding man before returning her attention to the men beside her. "Stupid porker. Thinks he's god's gift to women. Kept on staring at me during Reeve's last meeting with him. Any way, if looking for a potential bedtime partner is not what you had in mind, what exactly are you doing?"

"Nothing much."

Yuffie snorted.

"Don't lie to me. You don't just stake out a place for the sake of it. You're up to something and I want in."

The two men exchanged looks. Cloud raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'well?'

Reno frowned.

_'I guess it won't hurt to tell her. I can trust her not tell anyone with asking first and I get the feeling that we're going to need all the help we can get with this one'_

Reno draped his other arm around the young ninja. "Yuffie, how about we find a quiet place to sit down for a while. This is going to be a long story."

* * *

"So this Seifer Alamsy kid is really Rufus' son that you hid on Earth when Shinra fell all those years ago? Wow. And no one else knows about this at all? Not even Reeve?" 

Reno shook his head as he sipped slowly at his beer. Yuffie sighed as she glanced around the downtrodden pub. The random pub they had found was quiet, with only a few patrons about talking quietly among themselves and deliberately ignoring all those that entered. _'Trust Reno to pick a place like this,'_ Yuffie thought as she gazed from their position at the back of the pub, silently signalling the bartender to refill her drink. _'Reeve would kill him if he found out that he brought me to an unsavoury place like this'._ Yuffie returned her attention to Reno as the bartender placed a fresh glass of beer in front of her and held out his hand for payment, slithering away as soon as the gil touched his hands. Reno watched the man walk away before focusing on his companions, leaning forward to speak again.

"The less who knew the better. I wanted him to have a fresh beginning so I destroyed most of the files that contained anything about Vince in them and told everyone that he had died along side his father when Diamond Weapon attacked Midgar. The fact that there was no body was explained away by saying that he had probably taken a direct hit and disintegrated. Everyone seemed happy with that explanation and he just faded away from everyone's mind."

"But know the trade routes that will be opening up between Gaia and Earth has gotten you worried that he will be found out."

Both men nodded in unison.

"We're trying to get a hold of him, but we can't seem to track him down without calling attention to ourselves," Cloud continued. "The Squall kid is already suspicious and has been digging up files on myself, Reno, Mako – anything that he can get his hands on. It makes trying to find any information about Vince much harder to do, considering that they have let very little out about him at all."

"That would be a good thing though, wouldn't it?"

"For now, but they can't keep him hidden away forever from the world. It's really to hard to tell at the moment. We don't even know what role he plays in Garden and SeeD. One slip and it could be all over for him. If we could find out where he's stationed, we could go from there."

"Well… I could try breaking into the commander's office and looking him up on the system. That's where all the details on the personals involved in this trade meeting are kept. I'll be able to snoop around the office as well and see what this Squall kid has on you guys while I'm at it."

Reno smiled.

"You sure? Security's pretty tight there."

Yuffie scoffed as she waved a hand in front of her, dismissing his concerns.

"I'm in. I'm going to need a distraction…"

The three huddled in close.

* * *

Barrett rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he gazed around the living room, nudging the glass door closed with his foot. Pocketing his picklocks (courtesy of Tifa from back when Avalanche had just began), he brushed the creases from his top as he took in his surroundings. He had never been to Cloud's house before, and he walked slowly through the house, fingering a random photo on the cream coloured walls. The photo looked to of been taken the day that Yuffie opened up her first shop, and she gazed excitedly at Barrett, arms wrapped around a smirking Cloud, who was ruffling her hair, just like a couple of kids. In another, Cid was placing his ring upon a beaming Shera, looking slightly out of place with a black tux and with no cigarette hanging from his lips. Reeve smiled as he held up a large barramundi and even Vincent grinned as he stood between Reeve and Reno on the day that Neo-Shinra officially opened its doors. 

Barrett ran his gloved fingers across the frames as he walked down the hall.

_'Not what I would of expected from these two.'_

The end of the hallway brought a choice of 3 doors. The closest door hid the bathroom, the large wall mirror reflecting the shadowy figure of Barrett as he lent inside the darkened room, eyes flitting across the large bathtub and shelves with numerous bottles of lotion, shampoo and shaving cream. Closing the door silently, he reached for the polished wooden door handle in front of him, twisting it open as he gently pushed it open. The flicking of the light switched revealed a large king-size bed sitting in the middle of the room, covered with a dark coloured quilt and two matching pillows, flanked by two wooden bedside tables on each side. A large wooden dresser with an attached mirror sat facing the foot of the bed, a blue t-shirt hanging hazardly from the corner of the mirror and a sleek back phone being the only occupants on the top of the dresser. A built in wardrobe completed the room as Barrett stepped down the small step into Cloud's and Reno's bedroom.

_'The bedroom. This is a good enough place as any to start. There must be something in here that I can use against that little punk.'_

Making his way to the dresser, he pulled open the top drawer, only to find that it was empty. The second drawer gave the same result, while a quick rummage through the 3rd and 4th drawers revealed clothes that Cloud had deemed unfit to wear on his trip. Shoving a random top back into the draw and slamming it shut, Barrett slid the door on the wardrobe opened, only to be greeted with a similar sight. Barrett spun around and sat heavily on the bed.

_'I thought that Reno lived here with Cloud. So where's his stuff?'_

Reaching across, Barrett pulled the drawer from it's slot in the bedside table and rested it on his lap as he buried through the contents. A few weapons magazines dedicated to blades landed on the bed beside him, as did the lube (causing Barrett to shudder), and an empty notebook and pen. Barrett smiled as he pulled out the last item, a photo of the gang, taken just after they had defeated Sephiroth, back when they were still a team. Cloud stood in the middle, smiling wearily at the camera as Tifa lent against his shoulder. Yuffie flanked his other side, grinning broadly as she wrapped both her arms around Vincent's metal arm, whom was staring boredly at the camera. Smoke swirled faintly above Cid as he lent against his spear slapping Barrett on the back as Barrett rested his arm on Tifa's shoulder. The machine that made up Cait Sith stood behind Cloud, the toy cat resting his elbows on Cloud's free shoulder.

_'Those were good times we had back then.'_

Barrett smiled once more at the memory before replacing the items back into the drawer and closing it gently.

_'That must be Cloud's side.'_

Moving to the other side of the bed, he pulled open the drawer to find… nothing.

"FUCK!" Barrett threw the drawer roughly, sending it spiralling into the mirror, glass shards flying across the top of the dresser and falling onto the wooden floor.

"Fuckin' worthless hunk of crap, the whole lot of it! How the hell am I meant to find anything if there's NOTHING HERE!" Barrett kicked the broken drawer, sending it crashing into the step in front of the door, a white piece of paper fluttering to the ground in its wake.

_'What's this? A photo?'_

Barrett lent over and picked the photo up, turning it over to see the smiling faces of a younger Reno and Rufus, arms wrapped around a young blonde kid with bright green eyes and an identical smirk to the last president of Shinra.

_'Who's the kid?'_

Barrett sat back down on the bed, gazing at the photo in his hand.

_'The kid, he looks just like the Shinra brat, but I don't recall Rufus ever having a kid from the top of my head. I wonder what happened to him?'_

Pocketing the photo, Barrett stretched and quickly made his way out, locking the glass door behind him as he called for another taxi. Giving Shera's address to the smiling taxi driver, Barrett pulled out the photo again and gazed at it as if it could give him the answers to the questions floating in his mind.

* * *

Another chapter done! I think that this chapter went well, considering that it's been a while since I could type it out on the computer. Hopefully I shall be able to update quicker now that I've found all my notebooks, and finally got a new motherboard. Remember to read and review :)  



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